A U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent was caught on video Friday repeatedly striking a man in the head after having pinned the man down during an arrest in Evanston, Illinois.

Witnesses posted video of agents holding a man down on Friday near the intersection of Oakton and Asbury in Evanston, about a block away from Chute Middle School.

Video recorded by witness Kerry Littel shows an agent pinning the man down on the street, and repeatedly hitting him in the head as the man and witnesses tell agents he can't breathe.

In the video, witnesses can be heard asking, "Why did you do that?"

U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials said agents "were being aggressively tailgated by a red vehicle," which crashed into the agents' SUV as they made a U-turn.

"A hostile crowd surrounded agents and their vehicle, and began verbally abusing them and spitting on them. As Border patrol arrested one individual, who actively resisted arrest, pepper spray was deployed spray to deter the agitator and disperse the crowd," a spokesperson said in a statement.

Three citizens were arrested during that incident. It was not immediately clear if the man seen being punched in the video was involved in the crash that sparked the incident.

Meantime, DHS said five immigrants from Mexico were arrested on Friday in Evanston and neighboring Skokie. All five were in the U.S. illegally, and had criminal histories, including trespassing charges and multiple illegal entries into the U.S.

The flurry of immigration enforcement activity in Chicago's northern suburbs on Halloween left neighbors angry about the presence of federal agents.  

Not far from the incident near Chute Middle School, Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino was spotted at the Home Depot.

The sighting of federal agents, including Bovino, was not what people living in Evanston and the North Side of Chicago wanted to see.

Federal immigration activity so close to schools had community members asking, "where is the humanity?" when and if children witness such aggressive arrests.

"Our children are terrified, and our families are terrified, and some are not sending their kids to school. They're missing school. They're missing their education. It's not okay. This is not okay," said Allie Harned, of Evanston.

Demian Kogan, director of organizing for the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, said "What happened today was disgusting."

"It was morally reprehensible, and the only thing that's more disgusting about what happened today is that it is not an isolated incident. What happened today is our daily reality in Illinois," he said.

Meantime, a woman was taken into custody after she dropped off a student believed to be her child at Volta Elementary School in Chicago's Albany Park neighborhood, officials there confirmed. CBS News Chicago was told the child was able to get into the school safely.

Schools in Evanston and neighboring Skokie took precautions to protect students from immigration operations on Friday.

Evanston Township High School was placed under a "closed campus protocol," meaning students were required to remain on campus during lunch and free blocks. 

"There is currently no threat to our school community, and federal authorities are not present on school grounds," ETHS officials said in an alert to the school community. "While we currently have no indication that federal activity will occur on our campus, we are implementing this proactive measure to help ensure the safety and well-being of all students." 

A Cook County commissioner said some Skokie schools were also taking steps to lock down buildings. 

Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss confirmed immigration enforcement activity was reported multiple times in Evanston on Friday.

"Our message for ICE is simple, get the hell out of Evanston." Biss said. "Enough is enough, and so I would say to every Evanston resident: sign up, get trained, join a rapid response team, be a part of the effort to keep our neighbors safe."

The immigration activity on Friday impacted more than just schools.

Friday afternoon, Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias said all road exams at the DMV facility at the Levy Senior Center were temporarily suspended for the rest of the day, because ICE activity had blocked designated testing routes "making it unsafe and inaccessible for staff and customers."