The illegal immigrant who Chicago anti-ICE protester tried to protect by hurling rocks and snowballs at the feds is an alleged Tren de Aragua gangbanger who had rammed officer as they tried to arrest him, the Department of Homeland Security said Monday.
ICE arrested Luis Jesus Acosta Gutierrez — who entered the US under former President Joe Biden — following the impromptu riot on a snowy residential street in Elgin, Illinois, in which dozens of protesters lobbed rocks, bottles and icy snowballs at federal agents who had been chasing Gutierrez, according to DHS.
Immigration agents had attempted to conduct a traffic stop on Gutierrez, when he smashed his car into one of the agency’s vehicles, sending it careening into a tree.
He then fled the crash on foot before barricading himself in a stranger’s apartment.
The illegal immigrant from Venezuela then went out on the balcony and spoke to ICE agents, who tried to get him to exit the apartment and surrender.
Meanwhile, a large crowd of anti-ICE protesters amassed and began assailing the agents with snowballs and other projectiles, but DHS said local police “refused” to assist in protecting them.
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The Elgin Police Department confirmed as much in a statement on Facebook in the immediate aftermath of the unruly skirmish.
“The Elgin Police Department will continue to respond to any calls for service and determine the appropriate action within the parameters of the Illinois Trust Act which prohibits Elgin officers from assisting with federal immigration enforcement operations.”
Gutierrez was taken into custody after several hours of negotiating, and it wasn’t his first run-in with immigration authorities.
He was arrested at the border after entering the country illegally in April, 2023, but released by the Biden administration — which took the added step of granting him Temporary Protected Status (TPS).
“This suspected TdA gang member was not only released into our country by the Biden administration but also granted Temporary Protected Status,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.
“This yet again underscores the serious lack of vetting by Biden administration on the millions of aliens they allowed to come into the country.”
Gutierrez’s TPS was terminated last month, and DHS says he’s now facing deportation proceedings.
