Overview
- The IDOT employee, an Indian-American U.S. citizen, was questioned at a Busse Highway work site about his immigration status and about New York mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani.
- Three masked agents asked whether he had traveled to New York and then left the construction area without making an arrest, according to the governor’s office.
- Governor JB Pritzker called the encounter unacceptable and said citizens were being questioned based on skin color, urging that state workers be able to do their jobs without harassment.
- DHS stated the personnel involved were not from ICE or Customs and Border Protection, and officials have not identified which agency conducted the stop.
- Park Ridge schools kept students and staff indoors after reports of federal agents near campuses, and the episode unfolded during intensified immigration enforcement in the Chicago area under new federal court limits on tactics.