Crime & Law
Chicago Activists Allege ICE Violated Rights of a US Citizen and 21 Others During Arrests
Video: Joining “Chicago Tonight: Latino Voices” on March 20, 2025, is Keren Zwick, director of litigation at the National Immigrant Justice Center. (Produced by Sean Keenehan)
CHICAGO (AP) — Federal immigration agents violated the rights of 22 people, including a U.S. citizen, in immigration enforcement arrests during the first weeks of President Donald Trump’s second term, Chicago activists and attorneys alleged Monday.
The arrests allegedly violate a 2022 agreement between Chicago groups and the federal government detailing how U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement officers can make “collateral arrests,” where agents detain others besides those being targeted. The agreement, following a lawsuit over 2018 immigration sweeps, covers Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Kentucky and Wisconsin, which are under the ICE office in Chicago.
“The 22 examples are just a small slice of what we know based on the limited amount of capacity that we have to screen people on a quick turnaround, and we know that there are many more,” Keren Zwick, director of litigation at the National Immigrant Justice Center, told WTTW News’ “Chicago Tonight: Latino Voices” on Thursday.
“We already have another batch of violations of the settlement that we plan to bring to the court’s attention, too,” she continued. “What we do know is that ICE continues to claim that they are going after people whom they would characterize as the worst of the worst, but none of these individuals meets that criteria, by even any stretch of the imagination. Most of them have had no interaction with the criminal justice system ever in their lives.”
The NIJC detailed alleged violations in a federal complaint filed last week on behalf of advocacy groups in Chicago. Among other things, the agreement says ICE agents can make a warrantless arrest only when they have evidence that an individual is likely to escape.
The groups are seeking the release of two people who remain detained, sanctions against arresting officers and more transparency in how the agency conducts its operations, among other things.
“The motion demands that people who remain in immigration custody now be released without being required to pay bond or be subject to conditions, and that people who have already been released and paid a bond, that those bond funds be returned,” Zwick said. “And also, because there were so many violations in such a short period of time — 22 violations in just a few weeks — we are arguing that there is a pattern of disregard for the settlement. And so, we’re asking for additional oversight from the court to prevent this from happening going forward.”
ICE declined comment to WTTW News, citing pending litigation.
Aggressive immigration enforcement has been central to the Trump administration’s agenda, particularly in places such as Chicago that are often called sanctuary cities because they limit cooperation between federal immigration agents and local police. To send a message, the Trump administration gathered top immigration officials in Chicago in January to kick off an enforcement operation with cameras rolling live.
But there have been limited details on how the arrests are taking place and what practices are being used.
While the 2022 settlement applied only to six states, the new federal complaint could have nationwide implications. For instance, advocates in other states could join the effort .
Of those arrested, one was deported, 19 were released on bond and one was a U.S. citizen who was released after being handcuffed for hours. Most in the complaint do not have criminal records aside from one person with a driving under the influence charge, according to attorneys.
Those detained include Abel Orozco Ortega, a 47-year-old man who was arrested Jan. 26 while returning to his suburban Chicago home after getting tamales for his family. According to the complaint, ICE was actually looking for one of his sons in his 20s who has the same name. Ortega, who is in the U.S. illegally, remains detained in Indiana.
“Mr. Orozco has been in the United States for over 27 years,” Zwick said. “Mr. Orozco’s detention has forced the business to close, the landscaping business that he owned, that employed five to 10 people at any given time. So, it’s just evidence of what happens — it’s not just about the one person who is arrested, but these kinds of things have effects for not just that person, but their families and many people beyond.”
Family members said Monday that Ortega has no criminal record. His wife has breast cancer, they said, and, they have struggled to make mortgage payments without him.
“We’re all human, we deserve to be treated as such,” his son Eduardo Ortega, a U.S. citizen, said at a news conference.
Twelve of the arrests came from a Feb. 7 immigration sweep at a Mexican restaurant in Liberty, Missouri, where armed agents questioned employees for hours before the lunch rush. The complaint alleges agents did not have probable cause that the individuals were likely to flee before a warrant could be issued.
The federal government has until early April to respond in court. The current agreement expires in May.
Note: This article was published March 17, 2025, and updated March 20, 2025.
