CHICAGO (NewsNation) — Federal immigration officers used tear gas and pepper balls in response to anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement protesters demonstrating in front of the ICE processing center just outside of Chicago on Friday morning.
The center is being used as the main processing hub for undocumented immigrants who are detained by federal immigration officers and agents during “Operation Midway Blitz.” Organizers said they planned to hold weekly demonstrations at the processing center, which is separate from an ICE detention center.
Protesters chanted, “Save your soul, quit your job” at federal officers, who are part of the large-scale, multiagency operation that began last week. In response, Department of Homeland Security officers, speaking over a loudspeaker, ordered protesters to disperse, telling them they were violating federal law by obstructing officers from doing their job.
One protester was taken inside the processing center by federal officers after he picked up a tear gas canister that was dropped by an officer and tossed it in the direction of where media members were standing. The man remained in custody inside the facility as of mid-Friday morning despite chants by protesters for him to be released.
Another protest is scheduled for Friday evening at the facility, which is located in the Chicago suburb of Broadview.
Because of so-called “sanctuary” laws, those being detained by ICE during the ongoing operation are being transported to detention centers in either Wisconsin or Indiana. DHS officials confirmed to NewsNation this week that at least 250 undocumented immigrants have been arrested and detained by federal immigration officers and agents since the crackdown started.
On Friday morning, NewsNation cameras caught protesters blocking vehicles leaving the processing center, which led federal officers to use tear gas and pepper balls in response to the crowds. Among those in attendance Friday was Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, who said she came out to “stand with her neighbors.”
“I’m out here today with that same kind of spirit of speaking out and making it clear that this is a time for courage,” Stratton said. “It’s not just courage, it’s action.”
Daniel Biss, mayor of suburban Evanston, also attended Friday’s demonstration and wrote on social media that he and other peaceful protesters were tear-gassed by federal officers.
“This is a terrifying escalation, but we will not back down,” Biss wrote.
Kat Abughazaleh, a 26-year-old progressive who is running for the state’s 9th Congressional District seat, posted a video on social media of herself being dragged away from the protest by a federal immigration officer and tossed to the ground after she attempted to block the path of a federal vehicle leaving the processing center.
“This is what it looks like when ICE violates our First Amendment rights,” she wrote.
Ill. State Sen. Karina Villa, a Democrat, told NewsNation on Friday that ICE’s response to protests like the one that took place on Friday is a violation of First Amendment rights, which she is are “under attack.”
“We need to remember that we have those freedoms and we need to keep fighting for those freedoms,” Villa said.
ICE did not immediately return a NewsNation request for comment about Friday’s demonstration.
The protest was larger than previous demonstrations that have taken place in Broadview, where the windows and doors of the ICE facility have been boarded up for weeks. The facility has remained at the center of attention since word spread that DHS officials would be targeting the Chicago area.
Federal officers are also a nearby suburban U.S. Naval Base as a command center. NewsNation previously reported that federal officers and agents were being trained to use flash bang grenades to contain large crowds.
President Donald Trump said this week he planned to deploy the National Guard to Chicago after the guard’s current operation in Memphis wraps up.
In addition to ICE and Customs and Border Protection officers and agents, members of the Border Patrol’s elite tactical unit, BORTAC, were also on the ground Friday at the facility.
