DHS lashes out at sanctuary politicians, protesters for disrupting ICE operation

The Department of Homeland Security is criticizing Illinois Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker for failing to assist in responding to a chaotic anti-ICE riot in a Chicago suburb that forced federal authorities to deploy tear gas and other non-lethal measures.

In a Monday statement, the department claimed that police “under JB Pritzker’s sanctuary jurisdiction refused to answer multiple calls for assistance.”

Fox News Digital reported last Friday that federal officials clashed with a group of protesters who were blocking ICE vehicles from entering and exiting a processing facility in Broadview, Illinois.

DHS labeled the protesters “rioters” and said that so far, federal law enforcement has arrested 16 rioters. The agency said that the “rioters and sanctuary politicians obstructed law enforcement, threw tear gas cans, rocks, bottles, and fireworks, slashed tires of cars, blocked the entrance of the building, and trespassed on private property.” DHS said that rioters also assaulted law enforcement officials.

Matt Hill, a spokesperson for Pritzker, responded by telling Fox News Digital that “it’s completely false to suggest the state or local municipalities have been obstructing federal officials.” 

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“The state has not received multiple calls for assistance from the federal government and would remind them of the importance of coordinating with local law enforcement to protect public safety,” said Hill. He added, “Governor Pritzker has been clear that violence is unacceptable and everyone needs to follow the law, which includes federal agents respecting constitutional rights to peaceful protest.”

“The media needs to use extreme caution before reporting what the Trump administration is saying given their record of lies, lack of transparency, and failure to coordinate with the state and local law enforcement,” said Hill. 

The DHS statement said the protest disrupted an operation targeting “some of the worst of the worst—including criminals convicted of drug trafficking, domestic abuse, drinking and driving, and assault,” who were being processed at the facility.

The agency highlighted some of the criminal illegals who were being processed when the protest broke out.

Among those was Andres Ventura-Uvaldo, a criminal illegal and Mexican national, who the agency said was previously arrested for felony DUI and domestic violence.

Another, Alberto Algeria Barron, also a Mexican national, was previously removed from the U.S. in 2014 and was convicted for domestic battery twice, according to DHS.

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Erwin Jose Roa-Mustafa, an illegal alien from the Dominican Republic, was also being processed at the facility after pleading guilty on federal charges of conspiracy and intent to distribute a controlled substance and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl.

DHS said that ICE was also processing another alleged drug trafficker, Ibis Alberto Testa Nunez, from Mexico, who was previously arrested by the Drug Enforcement Administration for cocaine possession and possession with intent to distribute.

Two others, Salvador Alcantar-Alcantar, from Mexico, was previously arrested for DUI, trespassing and assault, and Carlos Eduardo Chavez-Cardenas, from Bolivia, was previously convicted for DUI and possession of drugs, according to DHS. 

“These heinous criminals, including domestic abusers, drug traffickers, violent offenders, and drunk drivers are some of the illegal aliens being held in the ICE Broadview Processing Center,” said DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin.

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“These rioters in Illinois are fighting to keep rapists, murderers, and other violent criminals loose on Illinois streets,” said McLaughlin. “Instead of rioting, they should be thanking ICE officers who every single day wake up and make our communities safer.”

This comes as DHS says that ICE officials are facing a more than 1,000 percent increase in assaults as they conduct operations across Illinois.