Two meter readers for the Town of Cicero said they were approached by federal agents while on the job, with one of the incidents caught on camera.
Abner Trabanino showed NBC Chicago where he was stopped by federal agents last Thursday morning around 9:30 a.m.
Trabanino said he has worked as a meter reader for roughly two years.
“I went to cross to read some of the meters on this side, but before I could they stopped me there right on the street,” he told NBC Chicago.
Surveillance video provided by the Town of Cicero captured federal agents getting out of a dark colored vehicle and approaching Trabanino.
“They asked me if I spoke English, which I said yes, then afterwards they asked if I was born here, I said yes, I was born in Berwyn,” he said. “They asked me which hospital I was born in.”
Trabanino said things shifted when he couldn’t recall the name of the hospital.
“That’s when they wanted me to get in their vehicle,” he said. “I asked them right before they took me if I could show my ID.”
After he gave the officers his identification, “they were on their way,” he said.
About an hour later, his coworker Edwin Ramirez had a similar encounter with federal agents while reading a meter.
“I had my headphones on and I saw the car stopped, and by that time they were already here—two of them,” said Ramirez.
Ramirez said they asked him the same questions that Trabanino was asked. The interaction lasted less than a minute but left a bad taste in his mouth.
Ramirez said he was born here and lives in Cicero. He was confused when the federal agents approached him, he said.
“I didn’t know are they like doing this to anybody,” said Ramirez. “I wasn’t sure you know, but once I talked to my coworker, they got us both in the same day.”
Ramirez and Trabanino, who are both U.S. citizens, alerted their boss about what happened. They said they believe they were targeted.
“I don’t believe it’s right because I’m not sure how they’re choosing,” said Ramirez. “It could happen to anybody.”
A spokesperson for the Town of Cicero said this is the first reported incident involving town employees and federal agents.
NBC Chicago reached out to DHS and ICE about the encounter and the enforcement that was conducted last week but did not immediately receive a response.
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