Federal agents may have defied court ban on tear gas
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Journalists and protesters face tear gas standing more than 100 yards from the ICE processing facility in Broadview last month. Photo: Monica Eng/Axios
Recent accounts of encounters between Department of Homeland Security officers and the public suggest federal agents have violated a recent court order.
Why it matters: Violating an order could constitute contempt of court, leaving the responsible parties facing fines or even jail time.
Catch up quick: A federal judge ruled last week that DHS officers operating in northern Illinois must stop deploying pepper spray and tear gas on journalists and peaceful protesters.
- If agents believe protesters pose an immediate threat and tear gas is warranted, they must first issue two separate warnings to those who would be affected, the order says.
Yes, but: That isn't always happening.
Case in point: Witnesses of a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement apprehension Sunday in Albany Park told the Sun-Times federal agents released tear gas into the crowd without warning. Videos of the event appear to corroborate the claims.
- Videos of a similar incident Tuesday on the Southeast Side in which 13 Chicago police officers also got hit by tear gas suggest a pattern.
What they're saying: DHS officials did not immediately respond to questions about potential violations of the judge's order, but they sent a statement from assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin saying: "The First Amendment protects speech and peaceful assembly — not rioting. DHS is taking reasonable and constitutional measures to uphold the rule of law and protect our officers."
- They also sent a link to the department's use-of-force guidelines, directing officers to use only force that is "objectively reasonable in light of the facts and circumstances confronting [them] at the time the force is applied."
- When asked if DHS agents have consistently complied with this policy, department officials did not answer.
Between the lines: In an interview with Politico, former acting ICE director John Sandweg attributed some of the recent controversial ICE incidents to agents being "under tremendous pressure" to boost arrests.
- "They've been forced to adopt some of these more aggressive tactics, because the [Trump] administration seems more interested in the quantity of people arrested, more so than the quality," Sandweg said.
What's next: Judge Sara Ellis, who issued the order, is expected to address potential violations of its provisions at a hearing Thursday morning.