Protesters arrested as demonstrators block vehicles at key immigration
building near Chicago
[September 20, 2025]
By CHRISTINE FERNANDO and COREY WILLIAMS
CHICAGO (AP) — Protesters tried to block vehicles Friday outside a
federal immigration enforcement building in suburban Chicago, leading to
a confrontation with authorities who arrested multiple people and used a
chemical agent to disperse the crowd.
The protest is part of steady pushback against an immigration
enforcement surge focused on Chicago and surrounding communities, which
has put more federal agents on the streets charged with delivering on
President Donald Trump's promise of mass deportations. The Department of
Homeland Security said Friday that almost 550 people have been arrested
as part of an operation that launched just under two weeks ago.
Friday's protest included dozens of people carrying American flags and
signs with the words “Hands off Chicago." Some participants tried to
block a car from exiting the facility's yard and were met with federal
officers who deployed chemical agents that released white clouds that
drove the protesters back, according to videos taken outside the U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in Broadview, about 12
miles (19 kilometers) west of Chicago.
The Chicago chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, which provided legal
observers for Friday's protest, said at least 10 people were arrested by
federal agents. They also reported that some people were injured and
required hospitalization, according to Brad Thomson, an attorney with
the guild.
“Our legal observers saw less-lethal force such as pepper balls and tear
gas used indiscriminately against demonstrators, legal observers, and
the media,” he said late Friday in an email to The Associated Press.
Earlier in the day, ICE Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin had said
in a statement to the AP that three people were taken into custody.
The Broadview site is a two-story building that has been used to
temporarily hold immigrants before they’re detained or deported. Its
windows have been covered with wood boards for weeks. Protesters have
regularly gathered there, including Catholic nuns who pray during
vigils.
Friday's protest drew advocates, residents and Democratic officials or
politicians — several of whom were among the protest crowd affected by
the officers' response.
Kat Abughazaleh, a congressional candidate who has joined protesters on
several days, told the AP that she was thrown on the ground by federal
agents and hit with tear gas Friday as she stood arm-in-arm with others
in front of a driveway, blocking a car.
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Protesters demonstrate outside of the Immigration and Customs
Enforcement facility in Broadview, Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. (Zubaer
Khan /Chicago Sun-Times via AP)
Abughazaleh said officers dragged one of her friends away before
others picked her up and threw her on the pavement. Abughazaleh said
agents then used tear gas and pepper balls, causing her eyes to run
and her throat to burn.
“Protesters were completely peaceful,” she said. “We had no weapons,
just signs and songs. We were afraid and angry.”
ICE officials, meanwhile, described the protesters as “rioters” and
accused them of assaulting law enforcement, slashing car tires and
blocking the entrance of the facility.
Demonstrators gathered outside the building again on Friday evening.
Video posted online showed protesters falling back when white smoke
filled the air and officers in gas masks exited a gate.
McLaughlin said local police refused to answer multiple calls for
assistance from federal law enforcement. The Broadview Police
Department did not immediately respond to messages Friday.
Activists and local leaders lately have stepped up pushback to the
surge of immigration agents in the Chicago area, aiming to deter
agents, warn residents and keep attention on a man killed by an
immigration officer last week.
Authorities said agents were pursuing a man with a history of
reckless driving who had entered the country illegally. They said
Silverio Villegas Gonzalez evaded arrest and dragged an officer with
his vehicle. The government said the officer fired because he feared
for his life.
“They want us to be afraid,” Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, a
Democrat, said in reference to the Trump administration. “They want
us to just kind of go into our little corners and not do anything.
... We’re not going to let that happen.”
___
Associated Press reporter Ed White in Detroit contributed to this
story.
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