CHICAGO — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained a woman selling tamales in the Back of the Yards neighborhood on Chicago’s Southwest Side on Thursday morning.
Witnesses described a significant ICE operation with a caravan of federal vehicles moving through the area near 47th and Western Avenue. Social media captured videos of the enforcement action, which included multiple arrests and a stronger show of force than previous ICE activities in the community.
Jaime Perez, who was on a video call with his girlfriend Laura Murillo at the time of her arrest, recounted hearing her say, “You’re hurting me,” before ICE agents forcibly ended the call and took her phone. Murillo was selling tamales when she was detained.
Murillo later contacted Perez from the ICE processing center in Broadview, Illinois, but was only allowed to make one phone call.
Murillo is a mother of two daughters, including a 16-year-old with special needs. After the arrest, her older daughter collected her mother’s table and chairs from the street vendor spot and spoke with members of the Southwest Side Rapid Response Team, which monitors ICE activity in the city.
Neighbors reported seeing about 20 ICE agents dressed in tactical gear in at least six unmarked vehicles during the operation.
Jianan Shi, a community organizer, expressed concern over the raid, saying, “That’s at least 20 agents. For what? For a hard-working woman who just came to work every day to sell tamales?”
The Murillo family is now seeking legal representation. Murillo also owns a restaurant in Chicago’s South Shore neighborhood and has lived in the U.S. for approximately 20 years.
Nearby, in a Home Depot parking lot, ICE agents arrested several other individuals who had come to work that morning, according to local resident Riccardo Sanchez. He mentioned that this was not the first time ICE had conducted enforcement activities in that location.
