ICE forcibly detains daycare worker amid scrutiny over excessive force use | Chicago

The brutality of ICE operations in Chicago came under scrutiny Wednesday after several armed agents arrested a daycare worker in front of children. At the same time, witnesses described excessive use of force by federal agents during a city court hearing.

ICE agents forcibly arrested an employee at Rayito de Sol daycare in the city’s North Side neighborhood after chasing her through the facility Wednesday morning. Videos taken by bystanders show ICE agents dragging the woman out of the daycare — at one point appearing to slam her face against the glass doors — before pinning her against a parked car as they attempted to handcuff her.

Speaking to CBS Chicago, a parent, Matt Champion, who witnessed the arrest, said he arrived at the daycare around 6:55 a.m. to drop off his child. Champion said he saw a black car followed by an SUV arrive at the daycare parking lot about 10 minutes later.

He said he saw the daycare worker get out of the black car, run into the facility before ICE agents chased her, grabbed her arm and dragged her out to the parking lot where she was arrested and put into the SUV.

According to other bystander videos reviewed by the Chicago Tribune, the worker could be heard saying “I have papers” in Spanish before being forced against the car.

Speaking to the media, educator Marisel Mari said: “We were concerned about the safety of the children. » According to daycare staff, no warrant was presented before an officer entered the facility, reports the Chicago Tribune.

Mother Tara Goodarzi, who was about to drop off her son, told the outlet that everyone was “crying, terrified, huddled together” following what she described as the “kidnapping.”

“To do it in a place where there are children, with complete disregard for what children see, there is no low level that these people will not stoop to,” she added.

The Guardian has contacted Rayito del Sol for comment.

City Alderman Matt Martin, who represents the 47th Ward where the daycare is located, told CBS Chicago that the videos of the arrest were “some of the scariest video footage I’ve ever seen.”

City and state lawmakers quickly held a news conference to condemn the incident, with Democratic Rep. Mike Quigley saying, “This woman is a trusted and beloved member of her community with a work permit who has dedicated her life to caring for children. »

“No child should ever be terrorized in their school,” he continued. “No parent should ever have to explain to their child why their teacher was taken away by armed officers, and no teacher should fear that showing up for work to care for and educate their children could result in their arrest.” »

Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin issued a statement denying that the daycare itself was targeted. “ICE law enforcement did not target a daycare. Agents attempted to conduct a targeted traffic stop on this female illegal alien from Colombia,” she said.

“Officers attempted to stop this vehicle, which was registered to an illegal alien, with sirens and emergency lights, but the driver refused to stop the vehicle. Law enforcement pursued the vehicle before the attacker sped into a shopping center where he and the female passenger fled the vehicle. They ran into a daycare and attempted to barricade themselves inside the daycare, recklessly endangering the children at inside,” she continued.

The incident at the daycare and the rapid response that followed coincided with testimony Wednesday in a Chicago courtroom, where witnesses described allegations of excessive force by ICE agents during immigration raids in the city.

The hearing is part of a lawsuit filed by several media organizations and protesters who accuse the agency of a “pattern of extreme brutality” and a “concerted and ongoing effort to silence the press and civilians.”

Testifying in court, youth organizer Leslie Cortez said she was recording and explaining the rights of day laborers in Spanish who were arrested by federal agents when one of them pointed a gun at her.

“I could see inside the cannon… My heart raced. I was afraid they were going to shoot,” she said, according to the Associated Press.

Meanwhile, Emily Steelhammer, executive director of the Chicago Newspaper Guild, said union members described being targeted with rubber bullets and pepper bullets, as well as being exposed to chemical agents such as tear gas.

Plaintiffs’ attorney Craig Futterman cited several recent cases in which ICE agents used tear gas on Chicago-area residents, including during a children’s Halloween parade. At one point, the court played video footage, reported by the Associated Press, showing Gregory Bovino, a senior Border Patrol official overseeing ICE’s “Operation Midway Blitz” in the city, throwing a tear gas canister.

Last month, a federal judge ordered Bovino to appear in federal court every weekday to report on ICE’s operations in Chicago.

Defending the ICE agents, Justice Department lawyer Sarmad Khojasteh said protesters made threats against the agents and attacked them with rocks.

“Such conduct must be rejected,” he said, according to the Associated Press.