Chaos unfolded Friday as protestors and ICE guards clashed outside a federal immigration facility in suburban Broadview being used as part of the Trump administration’s “Operation Midway Blitz,” with protesters, with several detained.
The protests began early Friday morning and continued into the late evening.
By nightfall, several protestors were detained.
Though this protest has taken place every Friday for weeks, the clashes on Sept. 19 have been the most tense so far.
Protestors were often seen trying to block vehicles or federal agents entering or exiting the facility, with federal agents then firing pepper balls at the crowd of protestors.
Throughout the morning and afternoon, video and photos captured at the scene showed ongoing scuffles between protestors and ICE guards outside the facility, with tear gas and pepper balls flying through the air.
By nightfall, the clash escalated as someone in the crowd launched fireworks outside the heavily armed ICE compound. Federal agents responded to the fireworks with tear gas and dozens of rounds of pepper ball shots.
Activists and some Illinois democrats running for office were seen gagging and struggling to breathe as tear gas filled the air. Some used milk and water to clear their eyes.
Kat Abughazaleh, who is running for Congress in Illinois’ Ninth District, was thrown to the ground by federal agents at the protest.
“What’s really important to mention here, I’m gonna have a bruise on my side, but that doesn’t hold a candle to the people trapped in the facility are dealing with,” Abughazaleh said.
One individual was detained in the morning after guards appeared to physically move activists in an attempt to clear a path for vehicles to enter and exit the facility.
Later, crowds at the protest grew with local leaders joining, including Lt. Gov. Julianna Stratton and Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez, as guards armed with pepper balls stood atop the roof of the building.
Video captured the moment tear gas was deployed.
A photo captured by NBC Chicago photographer George Mycyk Friday morning showed a bottle of what appeared to have been sprayed at protestors, marked with the words “riot control.”
“We just got sprayed with — I don’t know if it was tear gas, or pepper spray — I know it stung my eyes,” NBC Chicago reporter Jenn Schanz, who was at the scene, said. “It was very hard to breathe.”
In just two weeks, more than 550 undocumented immigrants have been detained by ICE, the agency told NBC 5 Investigates.
The Department of Homeland Security said demonstrators at the Broadview immigration facility have assaulted law enforcement and are interfering with operations.
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