Miramar Martinez, the Chicago woman who was shot and killed by an immigration officer, has been charged with assault on a federal officer. Text messages show agent bragging about gunshot wounds
Chicagoans fear immigration raids amid enforcement action
USA TODAY’s Michael Loria interviews Chicago residents about how immigration enforcement is impacting their daily lives and community life.
CHICAGO – A Border Patrol agent enforcing immigration in Chicago appeared to brag about shooting and killing a woman who said she was assaulted, according to text messages obtained by USA TODAY.
Miramar Martinez was charged with assaulting a federal immigration officer in connection with an Oct. 4 car crash on Chicago’s South Side. She has pleaded not guilty in the Northern District of Illinois case.
Text messages released in court records Wednesday, Nov. 5, show Border Patrol Supervisor Charles Exum apparently bragging about the incident.
“I fired five shots, leaving seven holes in her,” the agent wrote. “Put that in your book.”
Martinez’s attorney, Christopher Parente, said Exum sent the messages obtained through a court order in encrypted chats with other immigration officials.
USA TODAY has reached out to the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security for comment on Exum’s behalf. A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson declined to comment directly on the incident.
Asked about Exum’s situation, a spokesperson said, “Given the violence against our agents, CBP does not intend to divulge information regarding personnel against whom weapons may be used.” “This issue is being led by the FBI and the Department of Justice.”
Homeland Security officials said their workers were facing heavy resistance in Chicago. Asked for comment about Border Patrol agents snatching a Chicago woman from her car after she claimed to have tackled her, Border Patrol Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said the incident was “not isolated and reflects a growing and dangerous trend of illegal aliens violently resisting arrest and agitators and criminals driving into our nation’s law enforcement officers.”
Federal judges in Illinois have questioned the Department of Homeland Security’s claims that it was confronting an “insurrectionist” in the city.
The court filings released in Martinez’s case come amid several other federal lawsuits over the conduct of immigration officials in the city while carrying out President Donald Trump’s Operation Midway Blitz.
On November 6, U.S. District Judge Sarah L. Ellis issued sweeping restrictions on how officers can use force in the city after complaints that children were being tear-gassed. A day earlier, District Judge Robert W. Gettleman issued a temporary restraining order forcing U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement to improve conditions at the facility, calling him “disturbing,” “disgusting” and “unconstitutional.”
And on Nov. 12, District Judge Jeffrey Cummings is scheduled to hear a case involving an agent who allegedly made a warrantless arrest.
Martinez and other Chicago-area residents are accused of tailgating agents conducting immigration enforcement operations in their cars, according to an FBI agent’s affidavit. The civilians attempted to “corral” the agents with their vehicles, and Martinez “rammed and skidded” the agent’s vehicle, according to the affidavit.
At an Oct. 15 hearing in which Martinez pleaded not guilty, Parente said he didn’t think his client’s case was complicated. “This was a traffic accident where one of the drivers got out and shot the other driver,” he said.
The case is scheduled for trial in February, according to court records.
What else is in the text message?
Exum was texting people about the shooting in a group text, according to photos provided in court filings. Parente, who obtained the text messages through a court order, said the 23-year Border Patrol veteran had encrypted chats with other agents.
Exum first sent a link to an article about the shooting, then sent a message that read, “Read it. 5 shots, 7 holes.”
Messages returned to the attorney will be redacted in the court filing. A surprised reaction emoji will appear next to the link to the article.
The agent used an expletive, saying, “I’m ready for the next round,” texted the group, “LOL,” and referenced “My 15 Minutes of Fame.”
Lawyers shared text messages during a Nov. 5 hearing. The lawyer said he is a firearms instructor and takes pride in his “shooting skills,” the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
Parente, a former federal prosecutor in the Chicago U.S. Attorney’s Office, said the messages provided insight into the officers tasked with suppressing President Trump.
“These are people standing in our neighborhoods with assault rifles,” he said. “If it were the police, the city would be on guard about this.”
Chicago judge doubts homeland security officials
The release of the investigators’ text messages in the case against Martinez comes as several federal judges in downtown Chicago courts have expressed skepticism about the government’s claims about the violence the city is experiencing.
U.S. District Judge April M. Perry, who heard a case over whether President Trump could deploy the National Guard to Chicago, asked whether Homeland Security officials were “bound by reality.” Government lawyers have appealed the case, which is now before the U.S. Supreme Court. It is unclear when they will rule.
On November 6, Mr Ellis, the judge hearing the case over the use of force by immigration officers in the city, said the officers’ version of events was “absolutely untrue”. Federal authorities say they will need to use chemical weapons and other means to deal with Chicago’s “riots.”
“Describing the neighborhood moms as professional agitators shows how out of touch their operatives are and how unbelievable their views are,” Ellis said from the bench. “Overall, this calls into question everything the defendants say they are doing and their characterization of the case.”
Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino said the officers’ use of force was “more than exemplary.”
