Tension in Chicago: Several Detained During Surprise Immigration Check-Ins

What was expected to be the regular procedure of immigration check-in for some individuals in South Loop, Chicago, not only turned into pandemonium but also a heart-rending event on Wednesday, as federal agents – allegedly from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) – took the liberty to capture around a dozen individuals without informing anyone. A service provider who was handling the immigration supervision programs became the center of the event. Community members, advocates of immigrants, and even city officials were so irate that they started a protest.

Many witnesses and civil rights groups have made it clear that those who were detained had been part of the Intensive Supervision Appearance Program (ISAP). This program is designed to be a mode of custody that allows immigrants to stay with their families in the community and show up for hearings as their legal process unfolds. But the events of that Wednesday point to a different malicious scheme.

A Rather Disturbing Suicide of the Situation

Antonio Gutierrez, who is entrenched at Organized Communities Against Deportations (OCAD) as co-founder, remarked that about 12 people – who they believed could be ISAP enrollees – were in custody. A number of them had received the message several days earlier, which had invited them to the BI Incorporated office for what they thought would be regular check-ins. They got instead a trap.

People who were there, e.g., friends and relatives, talked of a very shocking situation. The phones were dead, and the people had stopped talking. Then, they were one by one led into the waiting vans that were outside the building—no warning, no explanation, no formal action, nothing.

The day was dedicated to Waquas Mehmood personally, as he had driven his friend Muhammad Imran, aged 62, to the city for his regular appointment. Imran, who is a diabetic but has no criminal record, was given permission to get some food for a while. While he was in the car having a snack and drinking water, the agents of ICE suddenly ran to him and took him back to the building.

“He was allowed outside,” Mehmood said, without the reality of the situation sunk in. “He is a 30-year resident here, the grandfather of some children, and not one felony has he done. They just took him.”

In a video of the incident, one could hear Imran screaming out when he was taken away, “I am here 30 years! I am a grandfather! Not one felony!”

Community Outcry and Protests

There was a lot of angry talk about the detentions, and thus around 50 protesters, among them some names from the Chicago City Council, were drawn to the area. The mood was quite intense, emotions ran high, and demonstrators let off steam by insisting on explanations and accountability of the government.

One of the officials, Alderman Byron Sigcho-Lopez, present at the location, has marked that federal agents not only misled but tricked people into coming. Besides, he also mentioned the incident where his colleague Alderman Anthony Quezada was pushed by the agents seeking to calm down the people. Although Chicago police were there, they had no reason to make any arrests. “Sigcho-Lopez felt that not only was what happened to the people unfair, but more importantly, it was not in the American spirit. Folks the law catches are ambushed – after they had been docile until the choose to dodge the law.”

“It’s not only unjust,” Sigcho-Lopez said. “It goes beyond American standards- it’s anti-American. People are following immigration laws, and then they are being ambushed.”

A Pattern of Aggressive Enforcement?

This is not the first time that agents with such tactics have been noticed. Lately, various agents on duty, wearing masks, have materialized at courthouses, grabbing immigrants during their court hearings being scheduled. The federal effort to hasten the process of deportations, especially in the era of the Trump administration’s renewed policies, has gotten considerably stronger – going after even those without a criminal record.

It is the opinion of immigration advocates, such as Gutierrez, that these actions betray a loss of trust and that it is almost impossible for any individual to comply with the rules.

“You can’t follow the law in good faith when you’re being lured into a trap,” he said. “It’s cruel. There’s no other way to describe it.””

One detainee, Gladis Yolanda Chavez Pineda, had even been denied access to her legal counsel at the appointment, Gutierrez added. That in itself was enough to make the advocates who had come to support her suspicious by raising red flags.

The Butterfly Effect

Carlos Pineda who was also present, mentioned that he had driven his friend Jose Aleman, 32, to his appointment the same morning. The guy was not seen nor heard of since that morning.

“He’s the calm one”, said Pineda, his emotions apparent. “He’s the one who tells me not to worry. And now I can’t even tell his wife where he is.”

Horrifically, families were staying put just outside the BI office and did not receive any news, while they were hoping for any rescue. As the night unfolded, a young boy’s voice was heard crying during his mother being taken away and as the events were continuing to unfound.

“What I witnessed wasn’t American,” Mehmood said quietly. “This is not the correct way to deal with those who are being just and upright.”

The Sweeping Influence

The Department of Homeland Security has thus far not given any information on the event, but the situation in Chicago is just one part of a broader and increasingly aggressive step in the immigration issue in the United States. This event also becomes a scare for the people that even becoming a part of the compliant system doesn’t mean that they are in no danger of being deported.

Local news suggests that the incident has reignited the talk about the ethics of U.S. immigration enforcement. Are these check-ins a way to guarantee citizenship for people, or are they being used to catch people unawares and to effect surprise arrests?

Definitely, the cruel way the police have acted in this case has brought new arguments about the recent reforms in U.S. immigration enforcement. Families were not only broken on Wednesday but were also not given welcoming words or any other help; rather, they were handcuffed, seized by covered agents, and the authorities there were just silent.

But for those who were not taken, the question is now: Where to find help in this situation?