Congressional candidates, protesters sprayed with tear gas in clash at Broadview ICE facility
Chicago Sun-Times (archive.ph)
By Mohammad Samra and Cindy Hernandez
2025-09-19 19:24:15GMT
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrest a protester at the ICE facility in Broadview on Friday. Zubaer Khan/Sun-Times
Tensions escalated at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview Friday where, during a morning demonstration, an ICE agent shoved a congressional candidate to the ground. Later, immigration agents fired tear gas and pepper balls into the crowd, and two protesters were arrested.
The demonstration, which began about 5 a.m., drew dozens to the facility to protest the detention of people rounded up in President Donald Trump’s aggressive deportation campaign targeting the Chicago area.
In a video circulating on social media, Kat Abughazaleh, a Democratic primary candidate running for the 9th Congressional District seat, was thrown to the ground by an ICE agent in fully camouflaged uniform.
Abughazaleh told the Chicago Sun-Times she was thrown to the ground twice by ICE agents and was helping another protester when an agent lifted her by her chest, carried her and threw her onto the asphalt.
“I wasn’t surprised, and that’s part of why we’re here,” Abughazaleh said. “Everyone here is at least a little bit scared, but mostly I’m angry and we need to get the facility shut down.”
ICE agents used tear gas and shot pepper balls, she said — some of which hit her legs — around 6 a.m., while shouting “your First Amendment rights are on the sidewalk.”
At least two people were arrested after clashing with ICE officers. Protesters said they haven’t seen the people arrested since they were taken inside the facility. A Sun-Times visual journalist was affected by the tear gas and left the scene to recover.
ICE did not respond immediately to specific questions about Abughazaleh, the use of nonlethal chemical agents and the status of the detained protesters.
By 9:30 a.m., at least 30 protesters remained at the facility. An automated message played periodically, warning protesters they could be subjected to arrest or the use of chemical ammunition if they didn’t disperse.
“It is hereby declared that you are obstructing and impeding federal law enforcement officers in the performance of their official duties in violation of federal law,” a woman’s voice said during the message.
Among the protesters were two Elgin sisters who have shown up at the facility every day this week in hopes of seeing their father, who is being held inside.
Milagros Pelayo, 22, and Yessenia Garcia, 16, said seeing others protesting against the treatment of immigrants made them feel seen.
Her father, Rosalio Pelayo Salgago, was detained at his home Sept. 10. Family members say they believe he has been held at the Broadview facility ever since.
“We’re a little overwhelmed, a little scared, but we’re still here,” Pelayo said. “We’re still fighting, and the fight is not only now for us, but for other people like us and other people who have immigrant parents.”
Lane Faltin, 22, said that protesters’ experiences during the demonstration paled in comparison “to what the people that are in side that building and the people that have been forcibly removed from this country are dealing with.”
“It’s a disgusting abuse of power,” he said.
The protest attracted two other Democratic contenders for the 9th Congressional District. Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss described ICE’s response as “a deliberate show of force and domination.”
Political contenders among the protesters
“They were trying to intimidate and dominate,” Biss said in a phone interview Friday.
Biss recounted the scene “becoming chaotic quick” as he struggled for air after agents fired a chemical agent toward him and other protesters.
“At first I was just feeling determined and grateful because there were so many people standing in solidarity, and at some point it got very scary,” Biss said. “When you can’t breathe, fear takes over.”
In a statement, Broadview Mayor Katrina Thompson said Biss’ appearance and “provocations” could endanger demonstrators, police officers and surrounding communities.
“Evanston Mayor and congressional candidate Daniel Biss’ repeated appearances and provocations at the ICE facility in the Village of Broadview, with his videographer and photographer in tow, are helping to fuel the agitation of an already tense situation, which could endanger our police officers, fire fighters, demonstrators themselves, and the surrounding Proviso Township communities,” Thompson said.
“He has lacked the decency and respect to call me or to notify my office when he comes to my community to engage in provocative campaign activities at the ICE facility,” she said.
Bushra Amiwala, a member of the Skokie Board of Education and another Democratic candidate for the 9th District seat, said in a statement that she was in front of the crowd when the chemical agents went off.
“My eyes were full of pepper spray. It was hard to breathe, and these agents created chaos,” Amiwala said. “There was no justification for using such violence against peaceful demonstrators. What happened in Broadview today is an affront to our democracy.”
Protestors gather outside of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview on Friday. Zubaer Khan/Sun-Times
Ald. Andre Vasquez (40th) joined protesters outside the facility and said he was also hit with chemicals after ICE officers shot projectiles at the crowd.
Armed ICE officers in military fatigues stepped out of the facility in a show of force against protesters at least four times since 5 a.m., according to Vasquez.
“If this is how the federal government is treating people exercising their freedom of speech, the treatment of the people inside has got to be far worse,” he said.
“We’ve got a federal government actively attacking and dehumanizing its own people and our neighbors. I think folks are going to stay here. The number is going to continue to grow, because we’re on the right side of history.”
Another protest demonstrating against ICE arrests is planned for 7 p.m. at the facility.
Contributing: Tina Sfondeles, Lynn Sweet
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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At Broadview ICE facility, federal agents hurl tear gas and pepper spray at protesters blocking vans
Chicago Tribune (archive.ph)
By Caroline Kubzansky and Rebecca Johnson
2025-09-19 21:49:01GMT
Curtis Evans, of Evanston, carries a U.S. flag through gas deployed by federal officers as they clear protesters from the entrance of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview on Sept. 19, 2025. Evans said he was a Marine during President Ronald Reagan’s term. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
Federal agents hurled tear gas and pepper spray into a crowd of about 100 protesters who attempted to block vans from entering and exiting a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility in Broadview Friday morning.
Protesters flocked to the west suburban building, which had its windows and doors boarded up, early in the morning to protest the Donald Trump administration’s immigration crackdown known as “Operation Midway Blitz.” Protesters chanted, sang and screamed at a group of agents in military fatigues and masks who walked back and forth on the building’s roof.
At around 8:30 a.m., agents threw multiple gas canisters and fired pepper-spray balls to disperse the crowd as a group of people were trying to block a van from leaving the building. Agents grabbed one man who appeared to be charging up the driveway, pinned him to the ground and hustled him behind the gate with his hands behind his back.
Protesters said two other people had been detained that morning. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security later confirmed in a news release that federal law enforcement arrested three protestors.
Homeland Security characterized the protest as an “organized effort to obstruct ICE law enforcement,” accusing protestors of throwing tear gas cans and assaulting officers. The department pointed the finger at Democratic politicians who it said have “villainized and demonized ICE law enforcement.”
“The violent targeting of law enforcement in Illinois by lawless rioters is despicable and Governor JB Pritzker and Mayor Brandon Johnson must call for it to end,” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. “The men and women of ICE put their lives on the line to protect the people of Illinois and all Americans.”
Homeland Security also said “police under JB Pritzker’s sanctuary jurisdiction refused to answer multiple calls for assistance,” a claim that a Broadview spokesperson refuted in an afternoon statement.
The statement said the Broadview Police Department received only one call from ICE at 11:39 a.m. informing police that objects were thrown onto the railroad tracks behind the ICE facility. Police contacted Harbor Belt Railroad, the company responsible for track security, to address ICE’s concerns, the village said.
Additionally, the village said ICE leadership had agreed to inform police before it deployed “chemical arms” like mace or tear gas, so officers could be prepared. The statement said ICE failed to do that Friday morning, exposing police officers to the tear gas. The Fire Department transported one protester to a nearby hospital.
“Because Broadview respects the rule of law, we will defend the constitutionally protected right to peaceful protest and will accept no interference with that right,” the village said. “Simultaneously, we will reject any illegal behavior that puts Broadview police officers’ safety or the safety of local businesses and residents at risk.”
It was the second Friday in a row protests have escalated as activists stage hourslong demonstrations outside the facility. Agents had forcefully cleared the crowd at least twice Friday morning.
Shortly after that standoff, Curtis Evans stood directly in front of the gate with an American flag. The 65-year-old Evanston resident heard about the first protest on social media and came to represent “the ideals that our country stands for.” He said tear gas and pepper balls hurt, but “five minutes later, you’re fine.”
“None of us have ever done this before,” he said. “All of this is new, and I just wanted to stand up as American and be seen and make my presence felt.”
Among those protesting were two Democratic candidates seeking to represent the 9th Congressional District, progressive content creator Kat Abughazaleh and Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss. The district includes parts of the North Side as well as many northern and northwest suburbs. Broadview is in the 7th Congressional District, many miles away.
Protesters scuffle with federal officers as an ICE vehicle enters the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview on Sept. 19, 2025. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
Other elected officials, including Lt. Gov. Julianna Stratton and Chicago Aldermen Andre Vazquez and Byron Sigcho-Lopez, also showed up.
Katrina Thompson, the mayor of Broadview, criticized Biss’ participation, saying his “provocations” outside the ICE facility made an already-tense situation worse, adding “he should know better. He’s a mayor.”
Abughazaleh posted footage to her 117,000 followers on Instagram of an agent shoving her to the ground.
“The last time today was rough,” she told the Tribune. “I believe a car was coming out or coming in. I stood up and this guy picked me up around my chest and threw me to the ground.”
Abughazaleh said behavior by agents at the protests has continued to escalate each week, including the “sheer force in how they threw me to the ground.”
“This week has been atrocious, the fact that they were content to run us over, tear gas us, shot us with pepper balls,” she said. “But what we are dealing with is not as bad as what the people in that building, that are being trapped in there, are dealing with.”
The ACLU of Illinois said in a statement last week that Broadview protesters “have the right to express themselves about government policy.” They said federal officers shouldn’t respond to First Amendment activity with “physical force and the firing of projectiles.”
Biss said “it’s obvious these guys are trying to intimidate.” He said the agents, who were armed and masked, rushed out into the crowd. He could be seen at one point on his knees on the street.
“They drove the car into us,” he said. “I couldn’t breathe.”
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At the article links above, there are a combined 80+ photos. I'm not going to bother posting them.
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