Federal agents fired tear gas at a crowd during a tense standoff in East Side, Chicago following a car crash Tuesday.
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said border patrol agents were in the city when someone rammed into one of their cars, setting off a chase.
Chicago police said their officers responded to the 10500 block of South Avenue N, near the Indiana border, just after 11 a.m. for reports of a car crash involving federal agents. When they arrived, officers worked to document the crash. CPD said none of their officers were involved with any of the federal operations at that location.
CPD also sent supervisors to the scene because it involved federal authorities.
In the moments that followed the crash, a tense standoff took place between residents of the neighborhood and the agents as tow trucks removed the vehicles involved.
Police said as federal agents tried to leave the scene, CPD officers tried to de-escalate the situation.
Police said people in the crowd began throwing objects at the federal agents, at which point the federal agents deployed tear gas into the street.
Juanita Garnica said her 16-year-old son and his 19-year-old cousin were detained, but she doesn’t know by which agency or why.
“I don’t know how to call. I don’t have nobody to call. I don’t know what to do to bring them back. They didn’t give me no information. Nobody called me. Nobody did anything. I don’t know where my son’s at,” she said.
Neighbors said they ended up caught in the tear gas and chaos.
“I felt like they were antagonizing us. We were asking when are you guys gonna leave. We just want you guys to leave. We don’t want no drama. We don’t want no violence. We just want you guys to leave,” said neighbor Madeline Anaya.
State Senator Robert Peters, who represents Illinois’ 13th District and is running for Congress in this district, initially posted about the developing situation around 11:30 a.m., writing, “All eyes on the East Side right now! ICE cannot just come into our communities and wreak havoc like this. My staff are on the ground and we will update residents as the situation evolves.”
“I’m in Springfield but my staff are on site at 105th and Avenue N. ICE behavior is unacceptable,” he posted a little less than half an hour later. “And if we know one thing about East Siders, it’s that they don’t tolerate this kind of b——t.”
Several people appeared to be taken into custody at the scene during the standoff.
Federal agents had equipped gas masks before firing the tear gas, but Chicago police did not have that kind of equipment. People in the area were seen throwing up, spitting and trying to get pepper spray and tear gas out of their eyes in the aftermath.
Some gathered at a nearby AutoZone, providing eye rinse, towels and water. Machi said there were at least 10 people in the building alone.
DHS released a statement on the incident, writing in part, “This morning while conducting an immigration enforcement operation in Chicago a vehicle, driven by an illegal alien, rammed a Border Patrol vehicle and attempted to flee the scene. Border Patrol pursued the vehicle and was eventually able to stop it utilizing an authorized precision immobilization technique (PIT) maneuver. Once the vehicle was stopped, the suspects, who are both illegal aliens, attempted to flee on foot. As Border Patrol arrested the subjects and attempted to secure the scene a crowd began to form and eventually turned hostile and eventually crowd control measures were used.”
Former Chicago police superintendent Garry McCarthy told CBS News Chicago that based on the uniforms the agents are wearing, which are full camouflage, he thinks they are likely Customs and Border Protection agents. He also said that based on what he’s seen today and in recent weeks, he doesn’t think the federal agents are appropriately trained in crowd control, especially compared to Chicago police.
“There’s a lot of problems I’m seeing from the way that federal authorities are handling this, and it was a different story when you saw the Illinois State Police come into Broadview, along with the Cook County Sheriff’s officers,” McCarthy said. “They were very controlled, they were in a line, they were not scattered all over the place, yo didn’t see pepper balls being fired and tear gas being thrown. They have a lot to learn, let’s put it that way, and they should be relying on local police to do that.”
Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling has said tear gas deployed by federal agents in other situations have affected CPD officers.
State Senator Elgie Sims, who represents Illinois’ 17th District, which encompasses East Side, released a statement saying, “I am monitoring the situation between federal agents and bystanders in my district. Using a chemical agent to disperse a crowd is unjust. No person should be targeted by the color of their skin and no group should be attacked for standing up for what is right. Let me be clear: Now is not the time for hate and divisiveness. Now is the time to stand united as a community and to protect our neighbors.”
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