ICE agents used tear gas on protesters after they agents were pelted with snowballs during a demonstration in Illinois.
The clash unfolded in the city of Elgin, where locals were demonstrating against Operation Midway Blitz, the codename for Trump’s anti migrant crackdown in the Chicago area.
Footages shared on social media shows protestors hurl snowballs at the ICE agents before being given a verbal warning that tear gas was about to be deployed.
After the gas canisters burst open, plumes of the chemical irritant could be seen spiralling into the air, causing the protestors to scatter.
In an attempt to stop the spread of the gas, some of the activists buried the cans underneath the piles of snow by the roadside.
Christina Chandler, a local resident told ABC7 News she “saw ICE drag people to the ground” during the clashes.
“I saw ICE spray people in the face,” she said. “They literally threw a smoke bomb right in front of my house, three of them in front of my house with my daughter inside the house, and they smoked that inside my house.”
A statement from Elgin Police Department said the clash between immigration officers and protestors was sparked by a car crash at 9.15 a. m. Nearby residents called the cops after seeing masked people lurking near their property, which later turned out to be ICE agents searching for a person who had been involved in the crash.
Over the following two hours the situation deteriorated with several callers telling Elgin Police shots had been fired.
When police officers arrived, they determined that the shots were from the gas canisters being launched at the protestors and that seven people were in need of medical attention.
“The Elgin Police Department will continue to respond to any calls for service and determine the appropriate action within the parameters of the Illinois Trust Act which prohibits Elgin officers from assisting with federal immigration enforcement operations,” the statement read.
Operations conducted by ICE agents in Chicago have sparked backlash in recent months, after President Donald Trump repeatedly attempted to unleash the National Guard to support the efforts of immigration officials.
Trump’s plan was mired in legal disputes, however, forcing many of the National Guard servicemen to be sent home in November.
According to Axios, Trump’s hardline immigration crackdown has led to the arrest of 579,000 people, whom Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin described as “illegal aliens.”
Government data obtained by the outlet revealed that ICE has been arresting around 1,100 people every day in recent weeks.
Many of the people being arrested do not have criminal convictions and instead are regarded as being “collateral,” by having an association with someone on a target list.
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