U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detained a man near an Oak Park elementary school Monday morning, but school officials said the incident didn’t involve students or staff.
PASO-West Suburban Action Project, a local social justice and immigrants’ rights organization that’s been documenting immigration enforcement activity in the West Cook suburbs, put out a statement on social media Monday morning saying that staffers confirmed that several ICE agents had detained someone near the campus of John Greenleaf Whittier Elementary School in Oak Park.
“The rapid response team has confirmed an abduction in the 600 block of North Cuyler Avenue at 7:50 a.m. this morning,” according to PASO-West Suburban Action Project’s release. “There were three agents driving a blue Nissan Altima.”
Whittier students are dropped off in the 600 block of North Cuyler Avenue, the 700 block of North Cuyler and the 600 block of North Harvey Avenue, according to the school district’s website.
Liz Lukehart, a resident of the 600 block of North Cuyler who witnessed the arrest, said that some children and families walking to school saw the arrest happen.
“There were a number of families that witnessed parts of it,” she said. “I know that shook a lot of people.”
The incident happened about “half a block” away from the Whittier campus, Lukehart said. The man was working as a painter at a home on the street, she said.
Video of the incident that Lukehart captured showed three agents making the arrest, including one wearing a vest identifying him as part of ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations team.
“They don’t usually do random stops,” Lukehart said. “They usually have individuals that they’re aware of, that they’re looking for due to their documentation status.”
Oak Park School District 97 spokesperson Amanda Siegfried, acknowledged the incident to Wednesday Journal in a statement Monday afternoon.
“This morning, prior to the start of school, District 97 was made aware of an incident involving ICE that occurred several blocks from Whittier Elementary School,” Siegfried said. “The situation was not school-related, and no students or staff were involved. Out of an abundance of caution, Whittier staff were notified and asked to remain vigilant throughout the day. The school day continued safely and without interruption.”
This incident comes one week after an Oak Park attorney was arrested by ICE agents outside of another District 97 elementary school.
Scott Sakiyama was arrested near Lincoln Elementary after driving behind an Immigration and Customs Enforcement van and honking his horn and blowing a whistle in an effort to identify the unmarked car as an immigration enforcement vehicle on Monday, Oct. 21. Sakiyama was arrested at gunpoint, and the incident put Irving Elementary onto the “secure” level of its lockdown protocol.
One of Sakiyama’s children is a current Lincoln student, he told Wednesday Journal last week. Sakiyama was held in federal custody for about an hour. Before he was released back near the Irving campus.
“The federal government is abusing its power, we’ve seen them disappearing people that they don’t think should be here,” he said. “Now they’re trying to criminalize honking your horn and blowing a whistle.”
Last month, ICE agents had been seen near the campus of the Wonder Works children’s museum and approached a museum visitor for questioning, but federal agents did not enter the building, according to Wonder Works Executive Director Rachel Weber.
Lukehart said that she and other Oak Park neighbors were able to identify the man arrested by ICE on Monday and got in contact with his wife.
“I connected with his family members and spoke with his wife, we were able to provide support for her, bring her over to the Broadview facility where they bring the detained individuals and she was able to retrieve the car keys for his vehicle so that she could get the car and bring that back home,” Lukehart said. “We just ensured that the family kind of got the support that they needed from local immigrant rights organizations.”
Lukehart said that many of her neighbors were carrying whistles that they blew during the incident and that she wasn’t the only neighbor who took video of the arrest.
“Thank goodness people in the community are now wearing their whistles and are aware of what to do with them, because it really does help,” she said. “We want to be aware and be cognizant of what’s going on and keep our eyes out for things, but also try not to panic each other. We want to try to respond to these things in ways that are productive and helpful for the impacted individuals, as opposed to kind of just perpetuating more fear and panic.”
