ICE Agents’ Brutality on Cam: Woman Dragged From Car, Handcuffed in Chicago

A viral video from Chicago has captured a dramatic incident in which agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) forcibly removed a woman, identified as Dayanne Figueroa, from her vehicle and handcuffed her in a residential neighbourhood. Bystanders recorded the altercation, which reportedly followed a collision between Figueroa’s car and an unmarked federal vehicle involved in an ICE operation.

According to footage and witness accounts, the incident occurred on October 10 in Chicago’s West Town district while ICE agents were conducting enforcement action targeting landscaper workers suspected of immigration violations. Figueroa was driving to get coffee when her car appeared to collide with the agents’ vehicle; workers and neighbours say the crash was caused when the unmarked federal vehicle swerved into her lane as it attempted to exit the scene.

Moments after the crash, the agents exited their vehicle with weapons drawn, opened Figueroa’s car door, dragged her out by her legs and forced her to the ground — all while bystanders shouted that the woman was on her way to work. The car keys and a coffee cup were left inside her parked vehicle as agents took her away in a red minivan.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) later released a statement claiming that Figueroa’s vehicle struck an unmarked government car and that she “violently resisted arrest, injuring two officers.” Despite that, she was released within hours and no formal charges appear to have been filed.

Figueroa, a U.S. citizen who recently underwent kidney surgery and had no criminal record according to family statements, says she was “in shock and terrified” by the experience and is pursuing legal recourse. Her family reported they were unable to locate her during detention and found her whereabouts only after tracking her phone.

Civil‑liberties advocates and community groups have expressed alarm at the incident, pointing to it as part of a pattern of aggressive federal immigration enforcement in Chicago using unmarked vehicles, minimal identification of agents, and tactics that blur the lines between immigration enforcement and public safety operations. Several legal challenges are reportedly underway.