Chicago (AP) – Family members raided an apartment by a helicopter when they went to sleep. Deploy chemicals near public schools. Chicago City Council Handcuffs member At the hospital.
Activists, residents and leaders say the increasingly militant tactics used by federal immigration agents are causing violence and fueling it Neighborhood tension It is the third largest city in the country.
“They make it a war zone,” Illinois Gov. JB Pretzker told CNN Sunday. “They fire tear gas and smoke hand rena bullets, making them look like a war zone.”
More than 1,000 immigrants have been arrested since they were arrested Immigrant suppression It was launched last month in the Chicago area. The Trump administration has also vowed to unfold National Guard With an agenda that encourages deportation.
but American citizenslegal status immigrants and children are being held captive by increasingly brave and aggressive encounters that appear daily in cities of 2.7 million and many of their suburban neighborhoods.
Arrived by helicopter
Activists and residents were stocking stock at an apartment on the south side of Chicago on Sunday. There, the Department of Homeland Security said 37 migrants had recently been arrested in an operation that was requested by Pretzker.
Federal agents are primarily focused There are a lot of immigrants and Latinx enclavethe operation was unfolding early on Tuesday, mainly in the Black South Shore neighborhood, where there was only a small influx. Immigrants He resettled in Chicago in search of asylum.
Agents use unmarked trucks and helicopters to surround the five-storey apartment, according to Bystander’s video and newsnation, which was invited to observe the operation. The outlet reported that the agent “rapped down from the Black Hawk helicopter.”
Agents then went door-to-door, awakened residents and used Zip Ties to suppress them, including parents and children.
Rodrick Johnson is one of the US citizens, and is temporarily taken into custody, saying that an agent broke his door and placed him in a zip tie. The 67-year-old was released hours later.
“I asked if they had a warrant and I asked for an attorney,” he told the Chicago Sun-Times. “They never brought it.”
Dixon Romero said the door was knocked down from the hinge when Southside, an organization supporting residents, was brought together.
“Everyone we spoke to was not safe,” he said. “This is not normal. It’s not okay. It’s not right.”
Pritzker, a two-term Democrat, has directed state agencies to investigate allegations that children are tied and detained separately by parents, saying “military style tactics” should not be used on children.
DHS officials said they are targeting their connections. Tren de Aragua gang. “Some of the target subjects are believed to be involved in drug trafficking and distribution, weapons crimes and immigrant offenders,” the DHS said without providing details of the arrest or addressing how the child was treated.
Agency officials did not reply to messages that left on Sunday.
Four US citizens were also temporarily detained.
Brandon Lee said others remain unexplained while some residents are placed on ankle monitors, along with the Illinois Union for immigration and refugee rights.
“It’s clear and clear that the ice (immigration and customs enforcement) and the CBP (Customs and Border Patrol) are violent forces in our community,” he said in a statement.
More tear gas and smoke bombs
Meanwhile, chemical use has become more frequent and visible over the past week. According to ICIRR, agents were first used to manage protesters, and were used this week during street and immigration operations.
Activists on the same day said an emergency hotline to report sightings of immigration agents had broken over 800 calls on Friday. Activities in the northwest district have encouraged nearby Funston Elementary School to hold indoor breaks.
The same day, Chicago Alderperson Jesse Fuentes was handcuffed in hospital. She told the agent he asked the agent to show a warrant to anyone who broke his leg while being chased by the ice agent.
“The ice acted like an invasion force in our neighborhood,” Democrat Lillian Zimenez said. “The helicopters rose above our homes, disturbing the peace of our horrible families and our communities. These shameful lawlessness is not only a violation of our constitutional rights, but our most fundamental liberties, our right to live freely from persecution and fear.”
On Saturday, immigration agents shot a woman who claimed they tried to run after the agent was “boxed in ten cars.” They later said that the woman was armed. However, activists said immigration agents caused a massive crash and detained a woman who is a US citizen.
Homeland Security Secretary Christy Noem defends offensive tactics, calling the mission to put agents at risk, and claims threats to the lives of executives.
“It’s a very dangerous situation,” she said on Sunday at the “Fox & Friends” weekend show.
Go to court
Leaders from the Chicago suburbs, home to the Immigration Processing Center, took their fight with federal agents to court.
The villages in Broadview are as follows: Frontline With an immigration tactic. The centre of 8,000 community is where immigrants are treated for detention or deportation.
Outside protests are tense due to almost daily arrests. Civil rights groups exploded Aggressive tactics By agents, village officials launched three separate ones Crime investigation To federal agents.
City officials have requested that the federal government remove an eight-foot fence that it says was “illegally” set up outside the facility. They filed a federal lawsuit on Friday, seeking a temporary restraining order and blocking access to the fire they say they immediately removed.
“The fences also constitute an immediate public safety hazard,” the lawsuit said.
Also, pending 2022 Consent Judgment On how federal immigration agents can arrest in six states, including Illinois. The order expired in May, but the lawyers sought an extension and filed dozens more violations last month.
___
Associated Press author Ali Swenson contributed to this New York story.
