Video shows immigration agent punching restrained man after car crash in Chicago suburb

ICE agent punches restrained man after car crash involving US border patrol in Chicago

Police in a Chicago suburb are gathering videos and other evidence to send to the Illinois attorney general’s office after a car crash involving a US Border Patrol vehicle led to a violent arrest caught on video, showing an agent repeatedly punching a man pinned to the ground.

Immigration agents detained three people after a sedan struck the rear of the Border Patrol vehicle around noon on Friday in Evanston. The confrontation quickly escalated, drawing a large crowd.

Footage posted on social media shows bystanders attempting to intervene as federal agents used pepper spray, punched a man who approached them, and pointed a gun toward a woman who opened a vehicle door containing a detainee.

The clash comes amid an expanded federal immigration enforcement drive in the Chicago area under President Donald Trump. In response, some Evanston residents have formed “rapid response” teams to alert the community when federal agents are spotted and to monitor their movements through the city.

During the incident, one agent appeared to punch a man in the head while restraining him on the ground. The Department of Homeland Security later described the blows as “defensive strikes,” claiming the man “grabbed the agent’s genitals and squeezed.”

Witnesses online accused agents of causing the collision by braking suddenly in front of the sedan, but federal officials denied this, saying the agents were “aggressively tailgated” and hit while attempting a U-turn.

City leaders sharply criticized the agents’ conduct. At a news conference, Mayor Daniel Biss said immigration officers had “beaten people up” and “abducted them.”

“It is an outrage,” Biss said. “Our message for ICE is simple: Get the hell out of Evanston.”

The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement, “A hostile crowd then surrounded agents and their vehicle, verbally abusing and spitting on them. One physically assaulted a Border Patrol agent and kicked an agent. As he was being arrested, he grabbed the agent’s genitals and squeezed them. The agent delivered several defensive strikes to free himself.”

In the aftermath, Mayor Biss urged residents to join the rapid response team, and city officials declared municipal property “No ICE Zones.” The Evanston Police Department has begun dispatching supervisors to immigration enforcement scenes to document activity and gather evidence for the Illinois attorney general’s Civil Rights Division, Police Cmdr. Ryan Glew said.

Glew noted that officers received calls from both federal agents and witnesses. A supervisor arrived after the arrests, and several people were treated for exposure to pepper spray.