Photo: AFP
A Black teen says he was tackled and detained by a masked immigration agent during a border patrol operation in Chicago.
Warren King, a 19-year-old U.S. citizen, told WLS that he was walking out of a Walgreens store on Tuesday (October 14) when a border patrol officer suddenly tackled him to the ground. Video captured by witness Yarelly Jimenez shows King being pinned by an agent as the bystander yelled, “He’s a citizen!”
“I’m telling him, ‘I’m a U.S. citizen. I’m born here,’” King said. “They didn’t try to hear none of that.”
According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the incident unfolded after border patrol agents in a white truck collided with a red SUV they were pursuing. DHS claimed the SUV driver, whom they described as an undocumented immigrant, hit the agents’ vehicle. After the crash, two people fled the scene, prompting agents to follow them into a nearby Walgreens.
Jimenez, who entered the store with King and her partner, filmed the scene as masked agents searched the aisles.
“Get the f— out of here!” Jimenez shouted, before capturing video of King being detained outside.
DHS confirmed that King was taken into custody but later released. The agency declined to offer a specific explanation for King's arrest. The agency said it apprehended the two men they had been chasing and described them as “illegal aliens” from Venezuela.
According to DHS, another teenager, who wasn't King, allegedly threw eggs at officers and was later arrested, questioned by the FBI, and released without charges. Local police responded to the scene around 11:07 a.m. and said they witnessed a crowd gathering, with some people throwing objects at agents. In response, federal officers deployed tear gas into the street.
Deputy Mayor Beatriz Ponce de León, who arrived later, criticized the operation’s handling.
“There is absolutely no reason to have this kind of chaos happening in our communities,” she said. “Putting people at risk, putting people in harm's way, and exacerbating the fear that people feel right now.”
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