Federal agents used tear gas, pepper spray and physical force Friday morning against protesters outside a holding facility used by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Broadview, including Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss and other candidates running to represent Illinois’ 9th Congressional District.
The west suburban facility has been a focal point for protests against immigration arrests and deportations during the second term of President Donald Trump, especially during the ongoing surge of federal agents in the Chicago region dubbed “Operation Midway Blitz.” Protesters have tried to block vehicles carrying people arrested by ICE from entering and exiting the building, where people inside have reported suffering “dehumanizing” conditions while awaiting transfer to a different location.
Friday’s protest included Biss and fellow congressional candidates Kat Abughazaleh and Skokie School District 73.5 board member Bushra Amiwala, all of whom were present when agents used chemical munitions and physical force to clear people out of the way of vehicles. Videos posted to social media show an agent throwing Abughazaleh onto the pavement, and others show Biss and Amiwala close to the crowd as agents threw tear gas canisters and fired pepperballs and a car slowly drove into them.
Biss told the RoundTable in a phone call Friday afternoon that he arrived shortly after 7 a.m. and immediately noticed “a higher level of aggression and brutality” than when he visited last week. He said he was linked with a group of protestors in front of a car when the chemical munitions were fired.
“For a bit it was just like, itchy and painful, and then all of a sudden I realized I could not breathe,” Biss said. “I sort of stumbled away and like, wound up on the ground trying to get air, and was eventually taken care of by a volunteer group of medics who were incredible.”
He said the agents are “trying to perform brutality and domination” by escalating the force they use, and said people should join in protesting at whatever level of risk they can, whether in Broadview or elsewhere.
“If everyone who is shocked and offended stands up and fights, we win,” Biss said. “The history of authoritarianism is clear on this point, but people need to rise up to topple the authoritarian regime. And so for people who are on the fence, I would urge them to consider coming.”
Amiwala’s campaign issued a statement on the protest, in which she called the agents’ actions “an affront to our democracy.”
“This administration wants to demonize law-abiding immigrants,” Amiwala wrote. “But make no mistake: ICE agents are the real violent criminals we must shun from American society.”
Three protesters were reportedly detained and taken into the facility.
Feds tear gas, shove protesters, including Mayor Biss, outside Broadview ICE facility is from Evanston RoundTable, Evanston’s most trusted source for unbiased, in-depth journalism.
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September 19, 2025 at 03:25PM
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