A clash erupted at dawn outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center in suburban Chicago, where federal agents forcefully broke up a protest that included a young Democratic congressional candidate. Video shows officers in tactical gear pushing into the crowd, deploying chemical irritants, and dragging demonstrators from a blockade that had sealed the facility’s entrance.
NEW: Former journalist Kat Abughazaleh (D), now running for Congress in IL-09, clashes with ICE officers outside suburban Chicago processing center pic.twitter.com/7ouj0bQe8O
— Unlimited L's (@unlimited_ls) September 19, 2025
Kat Abughazaleh, a leftwing 26-year-old running for Illinois’ 9th Congressional District, was among those linking arms at the driveway when ICE advanced, writes The Washington Post. Witnesses captured the moment she was shoved to the ground by a camouflage-clad officer, sprawling across the pavement as chants turned to cries of outrage. “We have no weapons, we have signs and chants and songs,” Abughazaleh said in the chaos. “They are treating us like it’s a war zone.”
Agents released pepper balls and what appeared to be tear gas from the rooftop to clear a path for vehicles, striking at least one member of the press in the process. A local videographer was hit by chemical irritants as officers wrestled with protesters who refused to give way. By the end, at least two demonstrators were detained and escorted into the building.
The confrontation, sharp and sudden, comes against a backdrop of intensifying debate over immigration enforcement. Only days earlier, officials in New York City were arrested while attempting to inspect ICE detention sites, fueling criticism of federal tactics. Abughazaleh, whose campaign emphasizes immigration reform and community rights, left the scene calling for accountability, while ICE remained silent on the morning’s events.
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Immigration is the Federal Governments responsibility based on the Constitution. That is all that needs to be known. Therefore any state, or city interference is a federal crime, plain and simple.
Therefore city, county and state officials promoting interference with the operations by ICE should be arrested and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Sanctuary anythings are for the TV shows and movies.