Daijiworld Media Network – Chicago
Chicago, Oct 5: Tension gripped Chicago’s southwest side on Saturday after US Border Patrol agents shot an armed woman during violent clashes between protesters and federal immigration officers. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed that the woman, a US citizen, was part of a group that rammed cars into ICE vehicles in the city’s Brighton Park area.
According to DHS, the woman was armed with a semi-automatic weapon and later drove herself to the hospital. No federal officers were seriously injured in the confrontation, though ICE agents fired pepper spray and rubber bullets to disperse demonstrators.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said additional “special operations units” were being sent to Chicago to control the situation. Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said the woman’s actions posed a direct threat to officers on the ground.
Meanwhile, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker lashed out at President Donald Trump, alleging that the White House pressured him to deploy the state’s National Guard. “It is absolutely outrageous and un-American to demand that a Governor send military troops within our own borders and against our will,” Pritzker said.
White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson later confirmed that President Trump had authorized 300 National Guard troops to safeguard federal officers and government property in the state.
Protests against the heightened federal presence have erupted across Democratic-led cities, including New York, Los Angeles, Washington DC, and Portland. In Chicago’s suburb of Broadview, protesters earlier clashed with police outside an ICE facility, with agents using tear gas, rubber bullets, and physical force to clear blockades.
A federal judge on Saturday blocked Trump’s order to send 200 National Guard troops to Portland, Oregon, as criticism of heavy-handed policing continues to mount.
Authorities in Chicago have urged calm, warning that the use of force and political confrontation could further escalate tensions across the country.