Tamale vendor arrested by ICE on Southwest Side of Chicago
A woman selling tamales was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Thursday in the Back of the Yards neighborhood on the Southwest Side of Chicago.
Witnesses captured a large ICE presence in the neighborhood on Thursday, as posted all over social media.
Neighbors described what they saw as an early morning car caravan of federal vehicles. They reported multiple arrests; a show of force greater than the Back of the Yards community has seen during the ICE operation in Chicago so far.
One by one, a witness recorded what they believe to be federal vehicles driving together near 47th and Western.
Jaime Perez said he was on a video call with his girlfriend, Laura Murillo, at the time ICE agents took her into custody as she was selling tamales near 47th and Western. He watched it all play out before the phone line went dead.
"She kept saying, 'You're hurting me. You're hurting me,' and then they snatched the phone from her, and the guy that was arresting her said, 'Do you want the keys?' And I go, 'No, I want her,'" Perez said.
The next time he heard from her, Murillo was at the ICE processing facility in west suburban Broadview.
"She called me, and she's in Broadview, and they only let her make that one phone call," Perez said.
Murillo has two children, an 18-year-old daughter and a 16-year-old daughter who has special needs.
Murillo's older daughter picked up her table and chairs after she was arrested, and spoke to members of the Southwest Side Rapid Response Team, which responds to sightings of ICE activity in Chicago.
"Talked about how her mom had been in the us for 20 years. She has a child with special needs," said Jianan Shi. "After this morning's operation, she's now at Broadview."
Shi said neighbors in the area saw at least half a dozen unmarked cars filled with ICE agents in military gear at 47th and Western before Murillo was arrested.
"That's at least 20 agents. For what? For a hard-working woman who just came to work every day to sell tamales?" he said.
The Murillo family is now starting the process of finding legal representation. They said Murillo also owns a restaurant in the South Shore neighborhood, and has lived in the U.S. around 20 years.
In the nearby Home Depot parking lot, neighbors warned of immigration enforcement there, too.
Riccardo Sanchez explained that federal agents arrested multiple people who had arrived for daily work Thursday morning. He said it wasn't the first time agents were there.
Three of his friends were taken from the Home Depot lot.