A mob of agitators confronted ICE agents and pelted the immigration agents during the arrest of a suspected member of the violent Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang in Elgin, Illinois. According to the Department of Homeland Security, the agitators committed the assaults during the arrest of Luis Jesus Acosta-Gutierrez, a Venezuelan illegal alien accused of using his vehicle to ram into an ICE agent’s vehicle on Sunday.
Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin provided details of the assault on ICE agents in the greater Chicago area in a social media post on Tuesday. The post included a video of a portion of the arrest that showed ICE agents attempting to leave the scene as a crowd of demonstrators shouted at the immigration officers, as one waved a Mexican flag.
According to McLaughlin, local police did not provide any help to the agents during the incident. A press release issued by DHS outlined the earlier pursuit of Acosta-Gutierrez after the suspected Tren de Aragua gang member allegedly rammed an ICE vehicle into a tree during an attempt to arrest him for being illegally present in the United States.
According to the release, ICE agents attempted to stop a vehicle being driven by Acosta-Gutierrez on Sunday. Acosta-Guttierez resisted arrest by using his vehicle to ram into the ICE agent’s vehicle while the officer was still inside. The unidentified ICE agent was not injured.
After the crash, Acosta-Guttierez fled from the scene on foot and later barricaded himself in an apartment of a person the illegal alien did not know. As ICE agents converged on the apartment, a large crowd of agitators formed and began throwing objects at the responding ICE agents, according to DHS. The objects included rocks and bottles.
According to DHS, Acosta-Gutierrez appeared on the balcony of the apartment and engaged in negotiations with ICE agents who ultimately convinced him to leave the apartment after several hours. Acosta-Gutierrez was arrested after exiting the apartment.
McLaughlin commented on the case, saying, “This suspected TdA gang member was not only released into our country by the Biden administration but also granted Temporary Protected Status. This yet again underscores the serious lack of vetting by the Biden administration on the millions of aliens they allowed to come into the country.”
According to McLaughlin, federal agents engaged in enforcing United States immigration laws are experiencing a more than 1150 percent increase in assaults against them.
Randy Clark is a 32-year veteran of the United States Border Patrol. Before his retirement, he served as the Division Chief for Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol Stations within the Del Rio, Texas, Sector. Follow him on X @RandyClarkBBTX.