CHICAGO — Federal immigration authorities fired guns at a Chicago activist who was trying to impede them in Brighton Park Saturday morning, Department of Homeland Security officials said.
The description of what happened immediately became a point of contention as the Trump administration and local pro-immigrant groups shared clashing descriptions of the shooting. Chicago police said one person was wounded in the shooting near the intersection of 39th Street and South Kedzie Avenue.
Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said officers were “forced to deploy their weapons and fire defensive shots at an armed US citizen who drove herself to the hospital to get care for wounds.” Drivers had boxed in and rammed the car the agents drove in, she wrote in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
No federal law enforcement agents were “seriously injured,” she added.
But alerts shared to “rapid response” volunteers — people tracking agents across the city in an effort to disrupt their actions by warning of their presence and filming deportation arrests — shared a far different initial summary.
“Our understanding of part of the incident this morning is that ICE’s car collided with a civilian car and then agents shot five bullets,” said Brandon Lee, a spokesperson for the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights.
One person, a U.S. citizen, was detained in the shooting, Lee said.
“As far as we know, they’re still in ICE custody,” he said.
The Chicago Police Department confirmed the shooting in a statement, but declined to detail what happened.
“CPD is not involved in the incident or its investigation. Federal authorities are investigating this shooting, and all further inquiries regarding the circumstances of this shooting should be referred to the appropriate federal authorities,” the statement said.
ICIRR, a leading pro-immigrant advocacy group coordinating responses to Trump’s deportation efforts across the city, shared an alert that following Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents “is now an extremely high risk of arrest/detention and of personal physical safety.”
“They are now shooting at cars,” ICIRR wrote. “These agents are 100% out of control.”
The Trump administration’s move comes amid “Operation Midway Blitz,” a mass deportation action that began Sept. 8 and has led to hundreds of immigrants being arrested. Trump officials say they are arresting “the worst of the worst,” but they have also taken in noncriminal immigrants.
That effort appeared to take yet another massive step forward Saturday afternoon when Gov. JB Pritzker warned that Trump is moving forward on the deployment of 300 National Guard troops to the state to facilitate more deportations.
The scene of the shooting quickly attracted dozens of protesters, who stretched a block along Kedzie Avenue early Saturday afternoon.
Residents heckled the federal agents with a steady stream of criticism and antagonism. One man mockingly asked a Border Patrol agent if he practices his gun skills by using the Call of Duty video series. Although the protesters were peaceful, the agents began putting on their gas masks in what residents called an escalation.
One man held up a poster with a Bible verse declaring, “I was a stranger and you welcomed me in.” A woman held up a sign declaring, “Love thy neighbor as thyself.”
Chicago attorney and former aldermanic candidate Berto Aguayo urged residents to stay behind the line and remain peaceful. “Don’t take the bait,” he said, while leading the crowd in a “el Pueblo, unido, hamas sera vencido,” which translates to the people united will never be defeated.
The office of Chicago U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros quickly condemned the woman’s actions that it said “placed officer life and safety at risk.”
“This Department of Justice does not tolerate assaults and obstruction of our brave men and women in federal law enforcement. We will investigate and prosecute all,” the statement said.
McLaughin’s statement included several apparent errors. It referred to the location of the incident as “Broadview,” where protesters have for weeks demonstrated outside an ICE processing facility, instead of Brighton Park.
It also referred to the police department as being controlled by Pritzker, though it is controlled by Johnson.
