The Evanston Police Department is investigating a Sunday morning incident involving U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents attempting to detain an individual whom they falsely identified as a suspect in a fugitive investigation, according to EPD.
Shortly before 10 a.m., officers responded to the 1700 block of Howard Street after a caller reported hearing two men arguing about an individual being taken into custody, EPD said in a news release.
At the scene, officers found an adult man on the ground surrounded by several people assisting him. The man, a U.S. citizen and Evanston resident, reported injuries to his head, neck and teeth. Officers then called an ambulance.
Around the same time, the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights reported ICE activity near the area of the incident. By 10:30 a.m., the group said it had not seen further activity.
Based on a video posted to Facebook Sunday evening, the incident took place on the sidewalk in front of El Pueblito Mexican Grill on Howard. The video shows the resident lying facedown as two agents attempt to detain him.
The agents then leave in a black SUV. One later told EPD they left the area after protesters began to gather because they “feared they would be attacked.”
During the incident, another EPD officer separately encountered two SUVs near Dodge Avenue and Brummel Street, including an individual in one of the vehicles who, “wearing plain clothes and a vest marked ‘POLICE’ with federal law enforcement markings, identified himself as a federal agent conducting a fugitive investigation,” the news release said.
According to the release, that agent told the police officer that agents had identified an individual who resembled a person they were seeking, that the individual refused to provide identification, was detained for fingerprinting and resisted detention. Later, federal agents determined he was not the person they were seeking, and he was released.
The Evanston officer observed blood on the agent’s hands. The agent said he was injured while attempting to handcuff the individual and declined medical treatment.
The agent later told EPD that five federal agents had been operating in the area using separate vehicles. He said the person they were looking for had addresses in the Chicago area and that there was a warrant for their arrest.
Evanston officers later contacted the detained individual, who was being treated at St. Francis Hospital for minor injuries.
“An EPD evidence technician photographed and documented his injuries. Police Chief [Schenita] Stewart also responded to the hospital, spoke with the resident and provided information about available community resources,” EPD said.
This is the first reported ICE incident in Evanston in months, although ICIRR has reported activity around the Chicago area recently, including in Skokie earlier this month.
Evanston was one of dozens of communities targeted in “Operation Midway Blitz.” On Oct. 31, 2025, multiple agents took people into custody, leading to a car crash and a violent confrontation in which agents drew their weapons.
EPD continues to investigate Sunday’s incident. Officers are conducting a video canvass, preserving available body-worn camera and in-car video footage and collecting photos and videos from witnesses.
Additional evidence is still being collected and will be prepared for public release as it becomes available, according to EPD.
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