A federal immigration operation in Chicago erupted into chaos this morning after a dramatic car chase, a tense standoff with a growing crowd, and the eventual deployment of tear gas that left even local police officers caught in the crossfire.
According to a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, the whole thing started when a vehicle, driven by someone they described as an illegal alien, rammed into a Border Patrol vehicle and tried to speed away. Federal agents gave chase and eventually forced the car to stop using a precision immobilization technique, which is a controlled maneuver meant to end a pursuit.
But that was just the beginning. As soon as the car was stopped, both people inside, whom the spokesperson said were illegal aliens, tried to make a run for it on foot. While Border Patrol agents were working to arrest them and secure the area, a crowd began to gather. The situation quickly turned hostile, forcing the agents to use what they’re calling crowd control measures.
A DHS spokesperson didn’t hold back in their criticism, linking the event to a larger pattern. “This incident is not isolated and reflects a growing and dangerous trend of illegal aliens violently resisting arrest and agitators and criminals ramming cars into our law enforcement officers,” the spokesperson said.
They also took a political shot, adding, “The fact that this attack was carried out by two illegal immigrants, highlights the need for federal law enforcement to continue to do their job of enforcing the laws of our nation —all while receiving no pay thanks to the Democrats’ government shutdown”, reported Fox 32.
The Chicago Police Department tells a slightly different side of the story, making it clear they were not part of the original federal operation. They said they were called to the scene just after 11 a.m. because of a traffic crash involving federal authorities. Their initial role was just to document the accident.
In their official statement, police said their officers showed up to try and keep the peace as federal agents were getting ready to leave. “A crowd began to form, and as federal authorities were leaving the scene, CPD members attempted to de-escalate the situation for the safety of everyone, including community members who were gathering at the location,” the statement read. But things spiraled when people in the crowd started throwing objects at the federal agents. That’s when the agents deployed tear gas into the street.
ICE is recklessly throwing tear gas into our neighborhoods and busy streets, including near children at school and CPD officers.
— Governor JB Pritzker (@GovPritzker) October 14, 2025
The Trump Administration must stop their deployment of dangerous chemical weapons into the air of peaceful American communities.
The move had immediate consequences for the very police department trying to calm things down. Thirteen Chicago cops were exposed to the tear gas, and the department confirmed that exposure reports would be filed for all of them.
The incident drew swift condemnation from Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, a Democrat. He directly accused Immigration and Customs Enforcement of “recklessly throwing tear gas into our neighborhoods and busy streets, including near children at school and CPD officers.” Taking to social media, he wrote, “The Trump Administration must stop their deployment of dangerous chemical weapons into the air of peaceful American communities.”
But the plot thickened even further with a shocking claim from attorneys. Lawyers with the firm Romanucci & Blandin say that at least one person detained by Border Patrol during all this was a 15-year-old American citizen. According to them, the boy was “grabbed off a Chicago East Side street,” slammed to the ground, kneed in the back, and zip-tied by agents around 12:30 p.m.
The attorneys provided a harrowing account, saying the teenager was then handcuffed and held in the back of a vehicle for a staggering five hours without being allowed to call his mother. It’s still unclear why he was ever detained in the first place.
His attorney, Antonio M. Romanucci, released a statement that compared the situation to something out of an authoritarian state. “This is how people disappear in autocracies—grabbed off streets, held in unmarked locations, no calls to family, no stated charges, no due process,” he said. “A 15-year-old American citizen was effectively ‘disappeared’ for five hours in Chicago. This is not law enforcement; this is the playbook of authoritarian regimes.”
What started as a routine enforcement action has now blown up into a major incident, leaving a neighborhood reeling, local police affected, and serious questions being asked about the methods used and the very identity of those who were taken into custody.
ICE is recklessly throwing tear gas into our neighborhoods and busy streets, including near children at school and CPD officers.
— Governor JB Pritzker (@GovPritzker) October 14, 2025
The Trump Administration must stop their deployment of dangerous chemical weapons into the air of peaceful American communities.
