A troubling incident unfolded outside a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Broadview, Illinois, when a CBS News Chicago reporter was allegedly targeted by a chemical munition fired by a masked ICE agent — even though no protests or unrest were occurring at the time.
Reporter Asal Rezaei, a regular on the immigration beat, said she was simply doing her job: driving slowly near the 25th Avenue entrance of the facility on Sunday morning to check for any activity.
She wasn’t part of a protest. She wasn’t trespassing. She didn’t confront anyone. In fact, she says she was completely alone, except for a nearby fire department worker checking on other buildings.
That’s when it happened.
According to Rezaei’s police report, an ICE agent — masked and standing inside the facility’s fence line — fired a pepper ball at her vehicle. The munition struck the driver’s side panel, and the resulting chemical agents flooded the interior of her truck.
Within seconds, Rezaei says her face was on fire, her vision blurred, and she was vomiting outside her vehicle.
She hadn’t announced herself as press, but she says her truck had been seen in the area before. That raises the key question: Why was a chemical munition used at all, let alone against someone not presenting any threat?
Photos from the scene reportedly show white powder on her windshield — evidence consistent with the chemical contents of a pepper ball. Rezaei declined medical attention, but the physical and emotional aftereffects of the incident appear serious.
The Village of Broadview is not letting this slide. Police Chief Thomas Mills issued a statement confirming a criminal investigation into what is being described as an “allegedly unprovoked attack.” The department expects “full cooperation” from the Department of Homeland Security — which oversees ICE — though DHS has yet to respond publicly.