Parents of teen tossed to ground, detained by apparent federal agent demand answers

A teen in Hoffman Estates was thrown to the ground by what appeared to be a federal agent this past weekend, and the teen and two of her friends were detained for hours before they were released.

Her parents spoke out Monday after they say their daughter, 18-year-old Evelyn, is still shaken from the experience.

Evelyn's parents said her boyfriend got a call that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were in his neighborhood. They went to warn people who live there and recorded the officers. This led to a violent arrest, in which the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said it did not take part.

Video from the Friday incident shows sirens and undercover law enforcement cars flooding the Hoffman Estates neighborhood where the arrest happened.

The video shows Evelyn getting pulled out of the passenger seat. She is then thrown to the ground, all while saying she is not resisting arrest, as the officer handcuffed her and appeared to put a knee on her back.

"I couldn't protect my child," Gerado said.

Evelyn's parents, Gerardo and Jazmin, said the images from the incident are something they cannot get out of their minds.

"They were telling them they were U.S. citizens, and they didn't care. It was very scary to see that video," Jazmin said.

Jazim and Gerado said their daughter and her two friends were taken in cars to the Hoffman Estates Police Department parking lot, where they sat for hours.

"While we were there, we were asking when they were going to be released, and what were going to be the charges, trying to figure out some kind of information because they weren't giving us any information," Gerado said.

At that point, Gerado and Jazmin said they didn't know if they would see their daughter again. She and her friends were all released after hours of waiting, but there was confusion about the department to which the officers belonged.

In a post on X, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin commented on Evelyn's arrest video, saying, "Imagine being so desperate to demonize law enforcement you post a video from a burglary arrest Chicago police made over a year ago. This isn't even ICE."

Hoffman Estates police, however, said ICE was in the area on Friday. 

A statement sent to CBS News Chicago reads in part, "The only interaction we had with ICE was when they came to the police department to file a police report reference an incident that occurred during their enforcement. They ultimately decided to complete the report this week with us and have not completed that yet."

Evelyn's parents said they want someone to hold accountability.

"Isn't the government supposed to protect and serve?" Gerado said. "Isn't the law officers are supposed to protect and serve? Why would we lie about this?"

Evelyn's parents said they are taking legal action.

CBS News Chicago reached out to the Department of Homeland Security to confirm whether agents were in Hoffman Estates on Friday, but did not hear back.

On Monday, U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Illinois) came to the ICE facility in west suburban Broadview along with former U.S. Rep. Luis Gutiérrez. Krishnamoorthi spoke there about the teenager's detainment.

He said the post from the DHS official on the incident "spread misinformation," and he called for transparency in that incident and others.

"This has got to end. ICE is acting out of control at this point, and they need to be held accountable," Krishnamoorthi said. "They need to be held accountable to their citizenry, who don't appreciate what's going on at all."

Krishnamoorthi also criticized DHS for not allowing him inside the Broadview ICE facility Monday. He said if people are being detained inside, he should be allowed to enter without notice under the Appropriations Law.