Immigration and Customs Enforcement left a US citizen from Evanston, Illinois, injured on the ground after he was detained in an incident of mistaken identity on Sunday, according to local police.
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told The Hill on Wednesday that during an operation in Evanston, ICE officers found a man “who resembled the target.” They identified themselves, but the man did not identify himself.
“ICE officers relied on their training and later left the scene without further incident once the individual finally identified himself,” the spokesperson said. “When ICE officers offered the individual assistance, he refused.”
The Incident
The Evanston Police Department said in a statement that at around 9:49 a.m., the department received a call about two men having an argument and someone saying that a person was being taken into custody. Officers were dispatched to the 1700 block of Howard Street.
ABC 7 Chicago spoke with Miguel Olivares, who said he was on his break at El Pueblito Mexican Grill on Howard Street when he saw vehicles outside the restaurant and a confrontation taking place.
“It looked like police vehicles until I started hearing, ‘I’m a US citizen. I’m a US citizen,'” Olivares told the outlet. He said he recorded the incident on his phone, adding that the federal officers “were being rough with [the man]; they had him pinned against the floor, and it looked like one of the agents hit him in the face.”
He told NBC 5 Chicago that because it appeared the men really hurt the man, “we had to call 911.”
The Aftermath
Officers arrived and found several people assisting the man on the ground, Evanston police said. He was found with injuries to the head, neck, and teeth, prompting police to call for an ambulance.
Another Evanston police officer encountered two SUVs near Dodge Avenue and Brummel Street. An individual from one SUV wore plain clothes and a vest marked ” POLICE’ with federal law enforcement markings and identified himself as a federal officer “conducting a fugitive investigation,” according to police.
The agent told the officer that agents had attempted to identify an individual who resembled a person they were seeking. He said the individual refused to provide identification, was detained for fingerprinting, and resisted detention. Agents later determined he was not the person they were seeking and learned that he was a US citizen. He was released.
The ICE Account
The ICE officer said that five federal agents were operating in separate vehicles in the area. He said the person they were looking for had addresses “associated with Chicago” and that there was a warrant for the man’s arrest, police said.
The police officer noticed blood on the hands of the ICE officer, who said he was injured while trying to handcuff the man. He declined medical treatment. ICE left the area after protesters appeared, as the federal officers “feared they would be attacked,” according to police. The injured man was hospitalized and met with Evanston Police Chief Schenita Stewart at the hospital.
The DHS spokesperson told The Hill that its operations are “highly targeted.” “We know who we are targeting ahead of time,” the spokesperson said. “If and when we do encounter individuals subject to arrest, our law enforcement is trained to ask a series of well-determined questions to determine status and removability.”
The Bottom Line
ICE mistakenly detained a US citizen in Evanston, Illinois, on Sunday during an operation targeting a fugitive. The man was left injured on the ground with injuries to his head, neck, and teeth. Witnesses say agents pinned him down and one hit him in the face. He was hospitalized. ICE says officers relied on their training and left once the man identified himself. Police are investigating and collecting footage.
Here is a short opinion section you can add to the article.
My Opinion
A US citizen was pinned to the ground by federal agents, hit in the face, and hospitalized. His crime? Looking like someone else. That is not a policing error. That is a failure of basic procedure. ICE says its operations are “highly targeted.” But this man was not the target. He was a bystander who happened to resemble the person agents were looking for. And when he told them he was a US citizen, they did not stop. They detained him for fingerprinting. They injured him in the process. Only after they confirmed he was not their suspect did they let him go.
The DHS spokesperson said the man “did not identify himself.” But witnesses say he was shouting “I’m a US citizen” while agents pinned him down. Someone is not telling the truth. The body camera footage will show which.
This is what happens when immigration enforcement is scaled up without adequate training, oversight, or accountability. The agents involved may have believed they were doing their jobs. But their job is not to rough up American citizens on the sidewalk because they look like someone else.
