Shockwaves from Thursday’s high-speed chase of federal agents pursuing undocumented immigrants — ending with the agents entering Warren Township High School to make an arrest — are being felt from neighboring Waukegan, to Springfield, to Washington, D.C.
U.S. Border Patrol agents first encountered the undocumented immigrants on Dugdale Road in Waukegan, began a pursuit, accelerated to “high speeds,” followed them to the school’s O’Plaine campus in Gurnee, entered the building and arrested one of the suspects, according to reports. The other suspect was arrested outside on the campus.
The safety of the students and staff was the first concern for Warren Township High School District 121, Superintendent Daniel Woestman said. With 39.5% of the school’s students Hispanic, he said, dealing with the immigrant-enforcement issue has been a concern since January.
“The most important thing is refocusing on ways to help students, staff and families feel safe in our buildings,” he said Friday. “Yesterday was a bump in the road for some of our families. We’re buckling down in our efforts to make sure they feel safe in our schools.
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Area school and government leaders continued to react to the behavior of federal Border Patrol agents Friday throughout Lake County, alleging that the agents did not show the proper level of concern for the safety of the community in the pursuit and arrest of the two suspects the day before.
U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Highland Park, said in an email Friday that keeping people in the area “safe, healthy and thriving” is his top priority. That includes getting dangerous criminals and drug dealers off the streets, “while protecting innocent people from harm.”
“The Trump Administration’s reliance on violence and intimidation as the cornerstone of its immigration enforcement strategy does the opposite — creating fear and chaos that make our communities less safe,” Schneider said.
Though the two men detained Thursday — Josafat Garcia-Roa and Samuel Suarez-Cuevas — were previously deported for crimes including drug dealing, Schneider said they seem to be the exception to the rule when it comes to the actions of immigration enforcement officials.
“The bulk of their actions seem to target hardworking people doing their jobs,” he said. “If the Administration were truly focused on public safety, it should work hand in hand with local authorities to target violent offenders in ways that do not threaten the public.”
Labeling the Border Patrol agents’ behavior Thursday as “reckless,” state Sen. Adriane Johnson, D-Buffalo Grove, state Sen. Julie Morrison, D-Lake Forest, and state Sen. Mary Edly-Allen, D-Libertyville, said in a joint statement that it stoked existing fear.
“(Thursday’s) event made it clear that federal agents were not taking residents’ safety into consideration, resulting in a reckless high-speed chase during a time when children were being dropped off at school,” they said in the statement.
Though the two undocumented immigrants who returned after a previous deportation drove recklessly to avoid capture, the senators said the agents should know better. They said they want more accountability from federal authorities.
“There is already anxiety and fear surrounding federal agents coming into our neighborhoods and taking our friends and neighbors with no due process, exceeding their lawful scope,” the statement said. “No one should have to live their lives afraid of their safety and well-being.
Administrators in Waukegan Community Unit School District 60 began school safety planning for enhanced immigration enforcement shortly after last November’s election. Superintendent Theresa Plascencia quickly took steps to calm fears — which she said are high — in her community.
“Incidents like these remind us of the importance of continually evaluating and strengthening our safety protocols including those relating to intruders, law enforcement presence and responses involving immigration officials,” Plascencia said in an email to the school community.
Rather than acting responsibly, Dulce Ortiz, the executive director of Mano a Mano Family Resource Center and board president of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, said in a joint statement for the two groups that the Border Patrol agents did the opposite.
Ortiz said in the statement that the high-speed chase was conducted with the absence of a warrant. The agents drove recklessly through residential neighborhoods, and one of the agents ran into a school building. The use of pepper spray was threatened, she said.
“The increasingly hostile Trump administration is looking more like an authoritarian regime, lying about our communities to spread fear and justify their violence against our families, Ortiz said in the statement. “Today’s attack is another example of how the Trump administration continues to sow chaos.”