Overview
- Rafael Veraza says a masked agent fired a chemical spray into his car outside a Sam’s Club in Cicero, leaving his 1-year-old daughter struggling to breathe and sending the parents to a hospital.
- Bystander video shows Veraza clutching his face and the child crying in her mother’s arms, and a local pastor who aided the family recorded the aftermath.
- DHS says no pepper spray or crowd-control measures were used in the store parking lot and asserts agents encountered gunfire, thrown objects, and vehicle rammings during weekend operations.
- Local reporting has noted Chicago police had no record of a shooting claimed by DHS, adding to disputes over what occurred during the enforcement sweep.
- The incident unfolds under Operation Midway Blitz, as a federal judge’s restraining order limits agents’ use of force in Chicago, the administration appeals, and Border Patrol chief Gregory Bovino was reprimanded by the court, with CBS reporting plans for his team to depart the city this week.