This is a developing story and will be updated as new information becomes available. Last updated Sept. 19 at 1:59 p.m.
Congressional candidates Mayor Daniel Biss, Kat Abughazaleh and Bushra Amiwala were teargassed at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview, Illinois, on Friday.
Abughazaleh arrived at the facility at 6 a.m. as part of a “Shut Down the Broadview ICE Facility” protest, according to a post on her Bluesky account. She was thrown to the ground by ICE agents, according to a video on Bluesky at about 7 a.m.
Abughazaleh told The Daily she arrived at the facility at 4:30 a.m. because agents began detaining people earlier in the morning. This is her third week going to the Broadview facility, she said.
“They just tear-gassed us,” Abughazaleh wrote in a post. “They tried to run us over in a van holding a peaceful protester. They shot us with pepper balls. They dragged another protester into the facility.”
This was the first time she saw protesters get detained at the facility, Abughazaleh said.
A video posted on Biss’ X page shows protesters linking arms as they were teargassed. In the video, Biss said a van drove into the protesters.
“Federal forces just tear gassed myself and the other peaceful protestors here at the Broadview ICE facility,” the post reads. “This is a terrifying escalation, but we will not back down.”
The protest was planned for 7 to 9 a.m. and after 6 p.m., according to a flyer Abughazaleh posted this morning. By around 11:20 a.m., both candidates were no longer at the facility, but a small crowd of about 35 remained. At least four armed agents were visible on the roof.
“My body hurts and will probably hurt way more tomorrow. But it’s a lot less pain than what our neighbors are enduring inside the Broadview ICE facility,” Abughazaleh posted on Bluesky around 11:07 a.m.
Around 11:25 a.m., a van arrived, and protesters swarmed as another vehicle left the gate. A tire of the van popped as protestors surrounded it.
Protesters chanted, “Let them go.”
At 11:26 a.m., Amiwala released a statement that she was also teargassed at the protest.
“I was at the front of the crowd when the chemical agents went off,” the statement read. “My eyes were full of pepper spray. It was hard to breathe, and these agents created chaos. There was no justification for using such violence against peaceful demonstrators. What happened in Broadview today is an affront to our democracy.”
More agents were lined outside of the gated entrance of the facility at 11:27 a.m. as it opened momentarily.
“You are commanded to immediately disperse. If you do not do so, you may be arrested or subject to other police action,” a loudspeaker announcement alerted protesters around 11:30 a.m.
At 11:55 a.m., agents began to shoot pepper balls at protesters on the sidewalk in front of the entrance as the gates opened for more vehicles to enter the facility.
Around 12:08 p.m., agents stood in front of the gate and shot more pepper balls. They walked back into the facility parking lot and stood in a line as the gate opened and closed three times.
The Broadview facility has seen demonstrations regularly amid ICE’s Operation Midway Blitz, a federal immigration crackdown targeting undocumented immigrants in the Chicago area.
Both candidates were present at the facility Sept. 12. At the time, Abughazaleh was again thrown to the ground, shown in a video posted to her Bluesky account.
“We will not back down. President Trump and @Sec_Noem will always PROTECT Americans and will step in if sanctuary politicians won’t,” the Department of Homeland Security wrote in a 10:18 a.m. X post.Just a week prior, DHS arrested an individual in Evanston, the city said in a statement Sept. 12. Earlier that week, the city announced that federal immigration agents are expected in Evanston in the “coming days.”
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