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Illinois state Representative Hoan Huynh, a Democrat serving Chicago, said federal agents from Customs and Border Protection (CBP) stopped him on Tuesday morning in the Albany Park neighborhood on Chicago’s northwest side.
The incident occurred on October 21 around 11:30 a.m. near Montrose and Kimball avenues, where the agents blocked his vehicle while he and his staff were following an unmarked car they believed contained CBP personnel, his campaign said in a news release.
A federal agent pointed a gun at the state representative as he and his staff were alerting North Side residents to reported immigration enforcement activity, according to Huynh.
“This was federal agents using violent intimidation trying to silence us,” Huynh, who is running in Illinois’ 9th District in the U.S. House of Representatives, said in a statement.
Newsweek has contacted the Department of Homeland Security for comment.
Why It Matters
Chicago has become a key battleground city amid ramped-up immigration enforcement as federal authorities under the Trump administration conduct Operation Midway Blitz. The initiative has involved increased Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity across the city, including arrests and targeted actions in neighborhoods with large immigrant populations.
Critics say the operations have heightened fear among residents and strained community relations, while federal officials argue that the measures are necessary to enforce immigration laws and detain individuals with criminal records.
What To Know
Huynh’s campaign said six armed CBP agents surrounded the front and rear of his car and approached. The state representative’s team said the stop was related to his efforts to monitor and warn residents about alleged enforcement operations by ICE and CBP in the community.
Huynh, a Democrat representing the Illinois House’s 13th District, said he had received a tip that federal agents were detaining individuals on foot in the neighborhood and was attempting to alert residents to their rights.
“They tried to bash in our car’s windows while we were doing Know Your Rights patrol in the community,” Huynh said in a post on Facebook. “Thankfully, we weren’t physically harmed, but this was federal agents using violent intimidation trying to silence us. If they can pull a gun on an elected official, there’s no end to the terror they will continue reigning on our communities. We must fight back against this fascist regime that has no place in America.”
Huynh is a Vietnamese American who came to the United States as a refugee when he was a child. He is the first Vietnamese American elected to the Illinois General Assembly.
Tuesday’s encounter marks the latest clash between local officials and federal immigration agents, part of a broader pattern of tense interactions that have emerged during the Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign.
What People Are Saying
State Representative Hoan Huynh wrote on X: “We must fight back against this fascist regime that has no place in America.”
What Happens Next
Immigration authorities have not issued a public statement or provided details about the encounter. The national debate continues over immigration enforcement practices and the role of community groups that monitor federal activity in local neighborhoods.
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