A video from Chicago, Illinois, shows ICE agents forcing a man against a fence as he repeatedly insists he has papers, while the person filming demands to know why the agents are using force.
The footage has drawn criticism online, with viewers questioning the agents’ actions and suggesting immigration enforcement has become more about making arrests than checking the facts.
The video was shared on Instagram by @ricardosalvadormirandaa and later reshared on X by @LongTimeHistory. It begins with the person recording asking the agents what warrant they have for detaining the man. The man can be heard insisting, “I got the paper, bro. Can you hear me?”
The person filming repeatedly tells the agents to let him go, says the man has papers, and asks whether they have a warrant. As the exchange continues, the agents force the man against a fence, and he shouts in pain.
“What the *expletive* are you guys doing?” the filmer asks, also asking whether the agents have their cameras on. He continues calling them out as they tell him to leave so they can depart.
The agent responds by warning that he could also be in contempt of the law. The filmer refuses to back down, continues criticizing the agents, and asks why they are questioning him about where he works.
The video later cuts to another part of the exchange, in which the filmer accuses an agent of treating him differently because he is white. He insists that he is Mexican and says the agent had indicated his appearance was the reason he would not be arrested.
The agent denies that interpretation and offers a different explanation, saying the detained man started running and that this gave them a reason to stop him.
The footage does not independently establish the full circumstances leading up to the encounter, whether the detained man’s documents were examined, or what happened to him afterward.
Internet Reacts to ICE Fence Detention Video in Illinois
The video drew a wave of reactions on X. One commenter wrote, “They’re just tryna get their numbers up. They don’t care. Let processing deal with it later.” Another wrote, “He REFUSED to look at his papers!” A third said, “Hopefully if we can flip Congress they can put a stop to this horror show.”
A fourth commenter wrote, “Papers mean nothing to these thugs, the numbers, the quotas, bodies disappeared into the machine that grinds all.” Another wrote, “Why wouldn’t he run knowing what you evil mf’ers do to people and don’t give a damn if you’re a citizen, have papers or not. They just don’t give a *expletive*.”
The video arrives as immigration enforcement in Illinois remains under public scrutiny. In 2025, U.S. Border Patrol Commander-at-Large Gregory Bovino told WBEZ that agents were arresting people based partly on “how they look.”
In a separate federal court filing, the ACLU of Illinois and the National Immigrant Justice Center alleged that Department of Homeland Security officers and other federal agents had arrested 27 people without warrants or probable cause since May 2025.
