Chicago, IL — A violent Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation in Chicago’s West Town neighborhood has ignited public outrage after a viral video showed ICE agents crashing into a civilian’s car and dragging a U.S. citizen out by her legs at gunpoint.
The victim, Dayanne Figueroa, said she was on her way to get coffee before work when she unknowingly drove into the chaotic scene of an immigration raid. Witnesses say ICE agents were attempting to flee a crowd of protesters when their vehicle collided head-on with Figueroa’s car.
Horrified bystanders can be heard in the footage screaming, “You hit her! We have it on video!” as agents swarm Figueroa’s vehicle with guns drawn. They forcibly removed her from the car, dragging her across the pavement without identifying themselves or reading her any rights.
“I was in shock and terrified,” Figueroa told the Chicago Tribune. “The video evidence is clear: Agents crashed into me. I was not involved in any protest or related activity, and I intend to seek justice for how I was treated.”
Figueroa’s family says she disappeared for hours after the arrest, with no information from either Chicago police or federal authorities. They only located her after tracking her phone to an ICE processing center in Broadview.
Her mother said that when she was finally released, Figueroa was bruised, bleeding from a recent kidney surgery, and deeply traumatized.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) defended the agents’ actions, claiming that Figueroa was the aggressor. In a statement, the department alleged she “crashed into an unmarked government vehicle and violently resisted arrest, injuring two officers.”
But witnesses — and multiple videos circulating online — directly contradict that narrative.
Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin later escalated the rhetoric, calling Figueroa an “agitator” and linking the incident to what she described as “a growing and dangerous trend of illegal aliens violently resisting arrest.”
However, Figueroa is a U.S. citizen with no criminal record, and lawyers say the government’s statements are a clear attempt to justify excessive force.
Civil rights advocates condemned the incident as yet another example of ICE’s reckless disregard for civilian safety and constitutional rights.
“This was a violent and unlawful assault on an innocent woman,” said one immigration attorney familiar with the case. “Dragging an unarmed citizen out of her car at gunpoint and detaining her without cause is not law enforcement — it’s lawlessness.”
The Justice Department has not announced whether it will review the use of force by ICE in this case. Meanwhile, calls for independent investigations and accountability are growing across Chicago, as the disturbing video continues to spread nationwide.
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