ICE leaves US citizen injured on ground in mistaken identity incident

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) left a U.S. citizen from Evanston, Ill., injured on the ground after he was detained in an incident of mistaken identity on Sunday, according to local police.

A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson told The Hill on Wednesday that during an operation in Evanston, ICE officers found a man “who resembled the target.” They identified themselves, but the man did not identify himself.

“ICE officers relied on their training and later left the scene without further incident once the individual finally identified himself,” the spokesperson said. “When ICE officers offered the individual assistance, he refused.”

The Evanston Police Department said in a statement that at around 9:49 a.m., the department received a call about two men having an argument and someone saying that a person was being taken into custody. Officers were dispatched to the 1700 block of Howard Street.

ABC 7 Chicago spoke with Miguel Olivares, who said he was on his break at El Pueblito Mexican Grill on Howard Street when he saw vehicles outside the restaurant and a confrontation taking place.

“It looked like police vehicles until I started hearing, ‘I’m a U.S. citizen. I’m a U.S. citizen,'” Olivares told the outlet.

Olivares said he recorded the incident on his phone, adding that the federal officers “were being rough with [the man]; they had him pinned against the floor, and it looked like one of the agents hit him in the face.”

He told NBC 5 Chicago that because it appeared the men really hurt the man, “we had to call 911.”

Officers arrived and found several people assisting the man on the ground, Evanston police said. He was found with injuries to the head, neck and teeth, prompting police to call for an ambulance. Witnesses told police that they believed ICE tried to detain the man.

Another Evanston police officer encountered two SUVs near Dodge Avenue and Brummel Street, the department said. An individual from one SUV wore plain clothes and a vest marked “‘POLICE’ with federal law enforcement markings” and identified himself as a federal officer “conducting a fugitive investigation,” according to police.

“The agent told the officer that agents had attempted to identify an individual who resembled a person they were seeking,” police stated. “He said the individual refused to provide identification, was detained for finerprinting and resisted detention. Agents later determined he was not the person they were seeking and learned that he was a U.S. citizen. He was released.”

The ICE officer said that five federal agents were operating in separate vehicles in the area, and he said the person they were looking for had addresses “associated with Chicago” and that there was a warrant for the man’s arrest, police said.

The police officer noticed blood on the hands of the ICE officer, who said he was injured while trying to handcuff the man. He declined medical treatment. ICE left the area where the incident took place after protesters appeared, as the federal officers “feared they would be attacked,” according to police. The injured man was hospitalized and met with Evanston Police Chief Schenita Stewart at the hospital to provide him with any support that he would need.

Police are investigating the incident and are collecting all body camera and dash camera footage, as well as photographs and video from witnesses. The department said that anyone with information about the incident is encouraged to contact police.

The DHS spokesperson told The Hill that its operations are “highly targeted.”

“We know who we are targeting ahead of time,” the spokesperson said. “If and when we do encounter individuals subject to arrest, our law enforcement is trained to ask a series of well-determined questions to determine status and removability.”