An Indian-origin employee working in the Illinois department of transportation was stopped and questioned about his immigration status while working on a Park Ridge construction project on Friday, according to the Chicago Sun Times. The employee was also asked about incoming New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, according to Governor JB Pritzker’s office, which said the incident raised concerns over racial profiling.The employee was a US citizen working on the Busse Highway resurfacing project when three masked agents reportedly approached him. They questioned him about his immigration status, whether he had travelled to New York, and if he was aware of Mamdani’s mayoral election, before leaving the site.Governor Pritzker condemned the federal action, calling it an example of authorities questioning US citizens “apparently based on the colour of their skin.”“I am appalled they would stop and question a state employee working hard on the job to help improve our state’s roads and infrastructure,” Pritzker said in a statement. “Our state employees should be able to go to work and do their jobs without masked agents targeting them for no legitimate reason.” The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) later denied that the agents were from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or US Customs and Border Protection. The incident worried residents in Park Ridge. Students and teachers in the local school district were instructed to remain inside after reports of federal agents in the area, WGN reported. Park Ridge-Niles School District 64 Superintendent Ben Collins confirmed he was aware of reports regarding federal immigration agents near some of the district’s schools.The episode comes after months of heightened federal immigration activity under the Trump administration’s MAGA crackdown. It has raised concerns among civil rights groups about potential targeting based on race and nationality.The GOP government sought to deploy the National Guard in Chicago amid a wider immigration enforcement surge dubbed “Operation Midway Blitz”. Illinois officials challenged the move as unconstitutional, and a federal appeals court blocked the deployment last month.
