ALBAWABA - Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents left a U.S. citizen beat down in the street in a Chicago suburb on Sunday morning after finding out he’s not their target.
The man was later found on the ground by the local Evanston, Illinois police after officers were dispatched over reports of two men arguing, the police said in a statement.
Several nearby bystanders were helping the man after his altercation with ICE. Police called for an ambulance after the man reported injuries to his head, neck and teeth – bystanders said they believed he was injured by ICE trying to detain him.
One officer encountered two SUVs while responding to the scene and proceeded to speak with an individual in one of the vehicles who identified himself as a “federal agent” conducting a “fugitive investigation,” according to Evanston police.
The “federal agent” in the SUV told the police officer that he and fellow agents had attempted to identify someone who resembled their target, but the person refused to provide identification and “resisted detention,” Evanston police said.
The agents said that after they learned that he was a US citizen they let him go, the police said.
Evanston, Illinois: Black American Citizen is racially profiled, beaten, and left lying on the street by ICE - who simply drove away after realizing their mistake pic.twitter.com/6OwZocvKaY
The Department of Homeland Security commented on the matter to CNN, saying:
“The individual was given lawful commands but was not cooperative and refused to identify himself,” a DHS spokesperson told CNN.
"ICE officers relied on their training and later left the scene without further incident once the individual finally identified himself.”
One witness, Miguel Olivares, said that he was taking a break while helping out at a restaurant when he noticed vehicles parked outside and a confrontation unfolding, he said:
“It looked like police vehicles until I started hearing, ‘I’m a US citizen. I’m a US citizen,’” Olivares said, at which point he began filming.
“They were being rough with him; they had him pinned against the floor, and it looked like one of the agents hit him in the face,” Olivares said.
He and others tried to comfort the man after agents released him.
“He was shooken up. He wasn’t really able to talk much. All he said was that he was a US citizen, that he doesn’t know why they targeted him,” Olivares told reporters.
Pshemaf Choiaqo is a digital marketer with a passion for media, style, and presentation.
He enjoys researching unorthodox and nonconventional subjects almost as much as he enjoys writing about them.
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