Illinois Accountability Commission hears testimony about excessive force by ICE agents

A newly formed state commission heard sobering testimony Thursday about federal agents’ use of force, just days after Border Patrol chief Gregory Bovino was spotted back in the Chicago region.

The Illinois Accountability Commission held its first public meeting in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood to compile an official public record of alleged misconduct by federal agents during the Trump administration’s “Operation Midway Blitz” immigration enforcement campaign this fall.

“The images are shocking and impossible to look away from, but most importantly, it’s going to be impossible to forget,” said Rubén Castillo, the commission’s chair and former chief judge for the U.S. Northern District of Illinois. “This cannot be the new normal.”

The mandate for the commission set by Gov. JB Pritzker in an October executive order includes documenting abuses by federal agents and issuing recommendations for policy and legal actions.

Castillo said the commission would investigate “every single” allegation of abuse by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal agents. Though it does not have the legal power to compel testimony or prosecute cases, the commission may recommend prosecution of agents accused of misconduct.

In January, the commission will open a portal where the public can submit information for review. The commission is required to issue a public status update by the end of January and a final report by the end of April.

Chemical weapons

During Thursday’s three-hour hearing, the commission listened to testimony from emergency medical physician and University of California-Berkeley lecturer Rohini Haar, who reviewed 30-hours of public footage of federal agents’ use of chemical weapons, such as tear gas and pepper balls, against protesters, journalists and bystanders.

Chemical weapons are only supposed to be used when there is a direct threat to public safety and no viable alternatives, Haar testified. When they are deployed, there are certain conditions and precautions that must be present to justify their use.

“Chemical irritants are inherently indiscriminate,” Haar said. “Once you fire it, there is no saying where the wind blows or who it targets. So, you cannot control an individual with this, and you can’t target it.”

Haar said she saw cases of indiscriminate use of chemical weapons against children and the elderly, use in enclosed spaces, weapons fired without warning or attempts to address the situation with other tactics, such as communication.

“Every single case I’ve seen of this has been excessive use of force,” Haar testified.

Among the incidents the commission reviewed Thursday was federal agents’ use of pepper spray against a young family in a Sam’s Club parking lot. Rafael Veraza was driving when federal agents pepper sprayed him through the car window. The family’s 1-year-old daughter was in the back seat.

Matt DeMateo, a pastor at the New Life Community Church in Little Village, found the Veraza family in the aftermath of the event. At the meeting, DeMateo shared videos taken by the family and his team, including of the young girl crying, her eyes red.

The scene, DeMateo said, felt like a “war zone” with helicopters flying overhead.

Investigating CPD, ISP

More than a dozen members of the public signed up to give comments to the commission. Some thanked commissioners for their work and shared stories from community members who were unable to attend, either out of fear or due to detainment by federal immigration agents.

“Our children’s lungs have been burning since September,” said Quinn Michaelis, a criminal defense attorney and the founder of the Edgewater Community Rapid Response Team, one of many rapid response networks responding to the presence of ICE in the city. “We cannot wait three more years for accountability. We cannot wait even until March.”

The Rev. David Black, who was shot in the head with a pepper ball by federal agents while protesting at ICE’s Broadview detention facility on Sept. 19, also spoke at the meeting.

“We don’t just need calls for accountability. We need good neighbors, and we need those good neighbors to be protected by the state and the city that claim to have the same opponents we do,” Black said.

Castillo indicated the commission would take the remarks under consideration, including from those who accused state and Chicago police of assisting federal agents in violation of the Illinois TRUST Act.

“I heard on behalf of the commission loud and clear that (Illinois State Police) and CPD cannot be part of the problem,” Castillo said, prompting applause from the audience. “We will look at that issue in a very serious way, just like we will look at ICE.”