The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Wednesday cited a U.S. Supreme Court opinion, written last year by conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh, to defend immigration agents who stopped and questioned an American citizen in Illinois because he looked like their target. In its reasoning, the department said it had been "vindicated" for its practices through the Supreme Court opinion, which said U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents could stop an individual based on reasonable suspicion. Critics have argued that this allows agents to racially profile individuals as potential undocumented immigrants, leading to conflicts between federal agents and U.S. citizens. On Sunday, a man who has not been publicly identified was briefly detained by ICE agents in the Chicago suburb of Evanston, according to local law enforcement officials, before being found on the ground with multiple injuries.
DHS told Newsweek its agents had approached the man, "who resembled the target," and that the agents left the scene without further incident "once the individual finally identified himself." Evanston Police Department told Newsweek that officers found the man lying on the ground around 9:49 a.m. local time Sunday, near Howard Street and Dodge Avenue, after they were called to reports of two men fighting and someone saying an individual would be taken into custody. The department said the man reported multiple injuries, including to his head, neck and teeth. Witnesses told officers they believed ICE agents had tried to take the man into custody.
DHS told Newsweek that agents had approached the man believing him to be their target. "The individual was given lawful commands but was not cooperative and refused to identify himself," a DHS spokesperson said. "ICE officers relied on their training and later left the scene without further incident once the individual finally identified himself.
When ICE officers offered the individual assistance, he refused." Evanston PD said another of its officers later spotted two SUVs near Dodge Avenue and Brummel Street, a couple of blocks from the incident involving the American citizen. A federal agent wearing a vest marked "police" but otherwise in plain clothes gave a similar account, explaining that once agents knew the man was an American, he was released. "DHS enforcement operations are highly targeted, and officers do their due diligence.
We know who we are targeting ahead of time," DHS 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." The federal agent appeared to have blood on his hands, the police department said, which he explained had come from attempting to handcuff the man. Police documented the Evanston resident's injuries at a hospital, and an investigation remains ongoing.
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