Chicago ICE Complaints – Nine Residents File Criminal Reports Alleging Beatings, Tear Gas and Shootings by Federal Agents
CHICAGO, Ill. — Nine Chicago residents filed criminal reports Monday alleging that federal immigration agents assaulted them, used tear gas against crowds, or opened fire during encounters in the city.
Among those filing a report was Marimar Martinez, a Chicago teacher’s aide who says she was shot five times by a Border Patrol agent in Brighton Park in October 2025.
Martinez appeared outside the Chicago Police Department’s 19th District station Monday morning and spoke publicly about the shooting, identifying the agent as Charles Exum.
According to Martinez, Exum was driving another vehicle when it allegedly swerved into hers on Kedzie Avenue. She said that moments later, he exited his vehicle and began shooting.
“He swerved into my vehicle on Kedzie Avenue, and moments later, jumped out of his vehicle and started shooting at me,” Martinez said. “I feared I was going to die as I called 911.”
Martinez further alleged that Exum later laughed and joked with colleagues about the shooting and that his supervisor, former Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino, praised him.
Those claims have not been independently established.
Martinez Was Initially Charged
The shooting led to criminal proceedings against Martinez herself.
Federal prosecutors accused her of using her vehicle to ram federal agents. However, the case against her was later dropped.
Martinez’s attorney subsequently released evidence that he said contradicted the federal account of the shooting. According to the attorney, the evidence indicated that the agent had swerved into Martinez’s vehicle and challenged the agent’s account that he fired through her windshield because Martinez was driving toward him.
The competing accounts remain part of a broader dispute over what happened during the encounter.
DHS Defends Federal Agents
The Department of Homeland Security offered a different characterization of the events.
In a statement Monday, DHS said that on October 4, Border Patrol officers “were ambushed by rioters that hit federal agents with their vehicles.”
The statement reflects the federal government’s position that agents were responding to dangerous circumstances.
The allegations made by Martinez and other Chicago residents, however, raise questions about the conduct of federal agents and the use of force during immigration-enforcement operations.
Attorney Says Tear Gas Was Used Near Families
Among those who filed a criminal report was Berto Aguayo, an attorney who said he went to Brighton Park following the shooting in an effort to help de-escalate tensions.
Aguayo said he was using a megaphone and leading neighbors in a chant of “Don’t take the bait” when agents allegedly fired tear gas into a crowd that included children and families.
He also said something struck his calf during the incident.
Aguayo filed a criminal report Monday as part of the group seeking to document alleged misconduct.
Woman Describes Alleged Traffic Stop
Another person who reported an encounter was Dayanne Figueroa, a U.S. citizen who said masked, armed men pulled her from her vehicle on October 10, 2025, shortly after she dropped her son off at school.
Figueroa alleged that the men did not identify themselves and that she was beaten and handcuffed despite being unarmed and cooperating.
Her account is among the allegations now being presented in criminal reports filed with Chicago police.
Calls for Accountability
The reports filed Monday come amid continuing controversy over federal immigration-enforcement operations in Chicago and allegations concerning the use of force by federal agents.
The people filing reports say they want their accounts formally documented and investigated.
The federal government, meanwhile, has maintained that its agents have faced dangerous and sometimes violent confrontations while carrying out their duties.
The competing accounts underscore the importance of independent investigations and evidence in determining what occurred during individual encounters.
The allegations described in the criminal reports have not been established as fact, and the filing of a criminal report does not itself establish that a crime occurred.
The incidents remain subject to investigation, and additional information could emerge through police investigations, federal proceedings, video evidence, witness accounts, or other documentation.
