ICE arrests suspect after standoff between agents, protesters in Elgin
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security Monday claimed they arrested a suspected member of a notorious Venezuelan gang in Elgin Saturday, during an operation marked by a standoff between agents and community members.
DHS officials said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents tried to conduct a vehicle stop, when the suspect rammed the officer’s vehicle into a tree.
The crash, Elgin police said, occurred on the 1600 block of West Highland Avenue.
The suspect then fled and barricaded himself in a nearby apartment. DHS officials claim the suspect did not know the occupants. The suspect eventually came out onto the apartment’s balcony and agents ultimately negotiated his surrender after several hours.
Meanwhile, a standoff took place between federal agents and protesters on the 1600 block of Maple Lane, during which agents deployed tear gas, pepper spray and pepper balls. Seven people were treated on the scene. The ICE officer involved in the crash suffered no injuries, DHS officials said.
Elgin Mayor David Kaptain blasted the agents’ response, calling it a “travesty.”
Officials said the suspect entered the country illegally in April 2023, when Venezuelans had been granted temporary protective status. U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem terminated that status in November.
DHS officials also complained Elgin police refused to help protect ICE agents as protesters threw rocks and bottles at them.
Elgin police could not be immediately reached for comment. But police said on social media it will respond to calls for service and act under the guidelines of the Illinois TRUST Act, which prohibits Elgin officers from assisting with federal immigration enforcement operations.
“We are grateful all of our officers are safe after, yet another vehicle was used as a weapon against them and more rioters threw rocks and bottles at them,” U.S. Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said.
Federal officials have made claims about gang affiliations of undocumented immigrants in the past only to recant those allegations later.