Dayanne Figueroa was in a car accident on her way to work, which resulted in a federal agent pushing her to the ground, according to the video. Figueroa is a U.S. citizen.
Illinois representative stopped by Border Patrol in Chicago
On Tuesday, October 21, Illinois Congressman Juan Huynh and a member of his staff were driving in Chicago when a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agent stopped him.
CHICAGO – A woman’s car accident on her way to work led to an ordeal in which masked federal agents with weapons pulled her from her car and detained her without telling them why, her family said.
Video of masked men restraining U.S. citizen and paralegal Dayanne Figueroa after a traffic accident in Chicago is the latest footage of federal agents patrolling the city, which has faced increased scrutiny over aggressive tactics.
Figueroa’s account of the incident comes as the Supreme Court considers whether to allow President Donald Trump to deploy the National Guard to the city. The White House has said an insurrection may be underway in the Prairie states and that troops are needed to help carry out President Trump’s immigration crackdown, known as Operation Midway Blitz.
Local Democratic leaders view the Republican president’s efforts to deploy troops as a power grab. Many Chicagoans and surrounding area residents view the federal agents already deployed to the city as an occupying force.
Reached by phone by USA TODAY, the Figueroa family declined to speak immediately, citing potential litigation. Dayanne Figueroa released a statement online.
“I was shocked and scared,” she said of the moment she was pulled from the car and pinned to the asphalt. “An agent ran into me. I am not involved in any protests or related activities. I will seek justice for how I was treated.”
Figueroa’s encounter with the agent took place on October 10th and was reported in the Chicago Tribune on November 3rd.
The explanation for the woman’s detention came days after Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told reporters at a news conference in Gary, Indiana, that no Americans were being held in connection with the blitz.
Homeland Security officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the incident or Noem’s comments.
The Figueroa family is raising money to cover legal and medical costs related to the incident. The woman said the encounter occurred after she had recently undergone kidney surgery and that she subsequently went to the hospital “due to excessive force being used while in custody.”
What does the video show?
A video posted by Figueroa’s family on YouTube shows immigration officials detaining a man on a city street while several passersby protest the arrest.
Federal agents placed the man in a minivan and began driving away. Agents in a second vehicle attempted to follow, returned to the roadway, and apparently collided with Figueroa’s car.
The agents stopped the car, got out with their weapons drawn and surrounded Figueroa’s car.
“You guys hit her, what happened?” says the man filming. “She’s about to go to work.”
Gov. J.B. Pritzker urged Illinoisans to videotape immigration officers doing their jobs. Mr. Pritzker established a commission to catalog potential abuses.
Deputies took Figueroa from the vehicle and restrained him on the ground. Her shoes fall off as she is dragged out of the car. She yelled at them to stop and get out of there.
“You guys have no heart,” says the man filming the video.
Other Americans detained by immigration officials
Court filings, videos and news reports indicate that Figueroa was not the only American ultimately detained by immigration agents who bombed the White House.
John Cerrone, a military veteran, was briefly detained at the U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement facility in Broadview, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, according to federal court filings. He was arrested during a demonstration outside the facility.
The site has become a hotbed of protests amid reports of inhumane conditions inside the boarded-up building. Cerrone testified in the lawsuit about the conditions inside, saying there was “blood, other body fluids and hair in the sink and on the walls.” Investigators boasted that they shot him in the head with a rubber bullet. And he was denied access to a lawyer.
“Even in Afghanistan, we had very clear rules of engagement,” Cerrone told the Guardian. “The actions of these agents will result in them being removed from the front lines if an incident occurs in Afghanistan. They will be court-martialed.”
Chicago Aldo. Jesse Fuentes is planning to file a lawsuit against federal officials after briefly detaining the alderman on Oct. 3, according to court documents shared with USA TODAY.
Arnold Carrillo Jr., a U.S. citizen and resident of northwest Indiana, who was also affected by the raid, told USA TODAY that federal agents arrested his sister and brother, who are also citizens, during the Oct. 23 raid. Officers also arrested Carrillo’s parents, who are from Mexico.
“I just want my family back,” Carrillo said. “I want my mother back, I want my father back, I miss my mother’s cooking and her advice. I took it all for granted.”
