Chased. Tear-gassed. Shot with less-lethal bullets. Tossed to the ground. Hospitalized.
Accusations have mounted over the past month in California, Illinois, New York and other locations against federal officers using excessive force when both detaining immigrants believed to be in the country without authorization and interacting with protesters and journalists. The claims come as Attorney General Pam Bondi ordered a crackdown on protesters and those suspected of assaulting or interfering with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal agents.
“Enough is enough,” Bondi wrote in a memo.
However, critics say this crackdown has resulted in overly aggressive tactics by federal officers, which are sometimes directed toward people who appear to have committed no crime.
A cyclist in Chicago — where Operation Midway Blitz is underway — shouted an expletive about President Donald Trump to immigration officers and was chased down on Sunday. An Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer allegedly shot a pepper bullet late Sunday at a CBS News reporter’s truck, damaging the vehicle. A Border Patrol agent appeared to shoot less-lethal munitions indiscriminately at protesters in Broadview, Illinois.
In New York City, an ICE agent shoved a woman against the wall and then onto the floor of a federal courthouse after she pleaded for officers to release her husband. The Department of Homeland Security initially condemned the agent’s action and suspended him from duty. He returned to the job days later.
Also in New York, photojournalist L. Vural Elibol was hospitalized Tuesday after ICE agents shoved several photographers outside the federal immigration court in Manhattan. Footage of the incident was shared, with journalists reporting that Elibol remained motionless for around 30 minutes. Another journalist was also shoved to the ground that same day.
“Another violent attack by an ICE officer on a civilian at 26 Federal Plaza — this time on a journalist, who had to be carried out on stretcher,” New York City Comptroller Brad Lander wrote on X. “Another attack on the First Amendment, our neighbors, and our democracy.”
Internal investigations into the conduct of Homeland Security officers could become exhaustive for the department after it gutted oversight offices in March, according to Reuters. The three offices investigated potential violations and handled complaints from the public. DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a March statement that the offices “obstructed immigration enforcement by adding bureaucratic hurdles and undermining DHS’s mission.”
Mayors of several Chicago suburbs held a joint press conference on Tuesday, denouncing federal agents’ actions in and around their cities. Robert Lovero, mayor of Berwyn, said residents need protection from human rights violations.
“This is something that we should all recognize,” Lovero said. “We should have grown up from what happened in past years. We should now realize that we’re progressing backwards and this is a human rights issue.”
Feds allege protests are riots
Federal officials painted a different picture. They maintained that these protests are riots, protesters are paid and agents aren’t the ones initiating violence. Bondi said in the Monday memo that federal agents and officers need to defend ICE facilities and personnel “whenever and wherever they come under attack.”
“The Department of Justice will arrest and prosecute to the fullest extent of the law every person who aids, abets, or conspires to commit these crimes, whether through funding, coordination, planning, or other means,” Bondi wrote.
McLaughlin, the Homeland Security spokesperson, did not respond to Straight Arrow News’ requests for comment.
Todd Lyons, acting director of ICE, wrote to an Illinois mayor on Sept. 26 that chants of “shoot ICE” and physical attempts to breach a facility in Broadview, a Chicago suburb, “cannot be dismissed as peaceful protest.”
Protesters, federal agents at odds
Tensions with federal immigration officers intensified notably in Illinois, where Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker has told President Donald Trump not to deploy the National Guard and alerted residents about their rights when interacting with federal agents.
Footage from The Associated Press showed federal agents on Friday firing chemical agents at protesters outside an ICE facility, standing atop the building and telling protesters not to tie items to the fence barricade.
Independent journalist Kelly Hayes wrote on Friday that protesters have attempted to block what they believed were ICE vehicles at the detention center, but allowed vehicles they perceived to be unaffiliated to pass. It’s not immediately clear if vehicles are blocked from entering or leaving the facility.
“When an ICE vehicle attempted to pass through, protesters put their bodies on the line, placing their hands on the vehicle’s hood and leaning into it,” Hayes wrote. “The vehicle continued to push forward, and protesters scrambled to stay on their feet while trying to remain in front of the vehicle, slowing its progress.”
Congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh, a Democrat, shared footage of a similar blockage at the Broadview facility on Friday. People are seen in the video physically blocking the vehicle, throwing stuffed animals, chanting and banging on the vehicle as the driver attempted to move forward.
That same day, federal officials said they confiscated a firearm from a protester at the facility. Officials, such as McLaughlin and DHS itself, have shared posts on X that called the protester a “left-wing terrorist.”
Confrontations between agents and the public have prompted some local police officers to say ICE agents have behaved too aggressively in their cities.
Police say ICE isn’t following best practices
Assistant Portland Police Chief Craig Dobson said in sworn testimony on July 25 that he weighs the actions of protesters and federal agents to determine if there’s unlawful assembly, The Oregonian newspaper reported. His testimony was used in a lawsuit by resident Cloud Elvengrail, who said the city was not enforcing its noise ordinance around an ICE facility across the street from her apartment.
“It makes it extremely difficult for us to deal with, as the folks that are on the other side of this fence have been, night after night, actually instigating and causing some of the ruckus that’s occurring down there,” Dobson said.
When Elvengrail’s attorney asked Dobson if he believed ICE was creating the problem, he replied that agents aren’t “following best practice.”
A judge expressed sympathy to Elvengrail and other residents regarding the noise, but declined to compel police or the city to enforce the ordinance.
In Broadview, Illinois, the police chief condemned immigration authorities for creating a “public safety crisis” as protests continued at an ICE facility. The chief said ICE’s deployments of tear gas and other chemical irritants incapacitated his officers as they removed residue from their skin. He noted it has been a growing issue since Homeland Security ramped up immigration enforcement in the Chicago area.
“The deployment of tear gas, pepper spray, mace and rubber bullets by ICE near the processing center in the Village of Broadview is creating a dangerous situation for the community and all first responders,” Broadview Police Chief Thomas Mills said during a Tuesday press conference.
The city is reviewing several claims against ICE for a criminal investigation.
The claims by protesters and neighboring police officers have shocked Mills. He said federal agents verbally assaulted him on Sept. 12 while the Broadview Police monitored enforcement activities around the facility to ensure they’re legally permissible under the First Amendment. He said an agent called him and his officers fascists for not standing with the federal officers.
“I’ve never experienced this,” Mills said.
The post Complaints of excessive force mount against ICE as Bondi orders crackdown appeared first on Straight Arrow News.