CHICAGO (WGN) — A U.S. citizen said armed Border Patrol agents snatched him off the street in broad daylight early Wednesday.
A man named Angel said he was on his way to his cousin’s house in Chicago. A random vehicle pulled up alongside him, he said, and agents pulled him inside.
“When the vehicles passed by, I didn’t notice who was in the vehicles,” said Angel, who declined to provide his last name.
The incident unfolded around 10:30 a.m. on Oct. 15, when Angel said he noticed a vehicle that had already passed him circle back.
“I saw the vehicles coming back, so I pulled out my phone and started recording,” he said.
In the video, U.S. Border Patrol agents can be heard identifying themselves. Four agents then exit the vehicle and instruct Angel not to run away. While recording, Angel retreats as the agents come closer. The agents then grab Angel, knocking his phone to the ground. Nearby cameras at his cousin’s house continued to roll, however.
“I got cameras. I heard the ring camera go off, and I went out and saw them driving off,” Angel’s cousin told NewsNation affiliate WGN.
Video shows agents leading Angel to their SUV and placing him in the back seat, as neighbors gathered in the street, left to wonder what transpired.
“He doesn’t have any warrants. He isn’t a troublemaker. He is a nice kid who was coming to help me out,” Angel’s cousin said.
Inside the SUV, Angel said agents demanded his name and repeatedly questioned his legal status.
“They took me into their vehicle and demanded my name, and asked if I’m a legal citizen,” Angel said. “…I’m from Chicago, Illinois.”
Seemingly satisfied he was a citizen, Angel said agents dumped him off at the intersection of 87th and South Baltimore — about half a mile away from where agents had initially detained him. Angel’s cousin would find him shortly thereafter.
“I saw him walking down from a couple of blocks away, and he jumped in, and I asked what happened? He said they just grabbed him and threw him in the car with them,” Angel’s cousin said.
As WGN crews visited the scene, another immigration vehicle seemed to pass by, but it’s unclear what — or who — they’re looking for.
“This thing has got to stop,” Angel conveyed. “This shouldn’t happen.”
WGN reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for additional details and has not yet heard a response as of this publication.