Watch: Chicago official shoved and handcuffed by ICE at hospital; Mayor condemns agents ‘abusive tactics’

A Chicago alderperson was shoved and handcuffed by the federal immigration agents while she was questioning them at a Humboldt Park Medical Centre on Friday.While sharing details, Alderman Jessie Fuentes said that she was at Humboldt Park Health following a report of immigration agents at the facility. When she questioned the agents about having a warrant to arrest at the medical centre, they did not respond and shoved her, NBC news reported. Fuentes was later handcuffed and threatened with arrest. “This is violence,” Fuentes said. Video of the incident shows agents claiming Fuentes was impeding their work. The hospital director mentioned that United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents can enter the emergency room but are prohibited from accessing the operating room. The hospital does not plan to release the individual ICE initially sought to detain, who sustained a broken leg. Fuentes indicated he fractured his leg while fleeing the agents, and attorneys have been appointed to represent him. She also noted that ICE agents have brought several injured individuals to local hospitals during arrests. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson condemned ICE’s actions, saying, “ICE’s abusive tactics have no place in our city, and our elected officials will continue to stand with residents against this attempt to stoke fear and intimidation. Chicago’s elected officials have a First Amendment right to document ICE’s actions and to inform their constituents of their rights without federal interference. Any attempt to block this work is a direct attack on democratic accountability and an assault on the rights of the people of Chicago.” Fuentes reported an increase in immigration enforcement activity in Humboldt Park on Friday, including the use of tear gas at the Home Depot on Cicero Street and Armitage Avenue, as well as at Rico Fresh on Armitage and Central Park Avenue. Several Chicago aldermen, including Fuentes, state Senator Graciela Guzmán, Cook County Commissioner Jessica Vásquez, Alderman Anthony Quezada, Alderwoman Rossana Rodríguez-Sánchez, and the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, spoke out outside Humboldt Park Health’s emergency room on Friday amid ongoing militarised immigration enforcement in Humboldt Park.