BROADVIEW:- U.S. Immigrant and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents fired chemical agents and pepper bullets at peaceful protesters outside a federal facility in Broadview, Illinois on Friday morning. Bushra Amiwala, the first Gen Z elected official in the country and candidate for Illinois’ 9th district, was struck by the bullets. 

“Everything was peaceful before the pepper bullets. I was helping people tie handwritten notes of encouragement to detainees to the fence outside.”

“Then, I heard a popping sound from the rooftop. I saw a blur of projectiles in my peripheral vision. The pepper bullets exploded in front of me. I felt the sting of chemical irritants all over my skin. It was incredibly difficult to breathe. I couldn’t stop coughing. Residue from the pellets drenched my clothing, and you could see the powder all over my hijab. Everyone was in shock. This was an unprovoked assault. They indiscriminately fired upon people on the other side of a fence.”

“ICE agents have stopped trying to justify their use of violence against peaceful protesters, against law-abiding citizens and against our local leaders. Why? Because violence is the point. Cruelty is the point. Inflicting pain upon minorities and political opponents is the point. This was never about making us safer. If ICE cared about the safety of the American people, they wouldn’t behave this way.”

Demonstrators want to stop detainees from being transferred to out-of-state detention facilities. The activists are also fighting to obtain contact information for the families of everyone in ICE custody.

“Every innocent person detained by ICE needs to know that they aren’t alone. And the Trump administration needs to know that we are watching.” said Amiwala, elected Skokie School District 73.5 Board member. “Far from detaining ‘the worst of the worst’ alleged criminals, this administration is targeting valuable members of our society because of their race. We won’t stand for it.”

Protesters congregated near the federal facility on Beach Street, even after ICE illegally erected a fence to keep protesters out of the area. The Broadview fire department has called for the fence to be removed.

“ICE agents have proven that they have no morals,” said Amiwala. “They separate families, terrorize our neighborhoods and inflict violence upon peaceful protesters. It’s up to us to show ICE that we cannot be intimidated into silence by their authoritarian tactics.”