ICE Agents tackle a Black teen in the Chicago area as he screams ‘I’m a US Citizen’

As Border Patrol agents continue to invade the city of Chicago, a pattern of excessive force and wrongful arrests of Black teens emerges.

On Tuesday, October 14, Warren King, a Black 19-year-old, was tackled by federal agents outside of a Walgreens in a neighborhood on the East side of Chicago. Video footage shows multiple agents running into the store, which the 19-year-old told a local outlet he was shopping in with friends and family. 

However, moments after agents ran into the building, one was seen chasing and tackling King to the ground outside the store. While the agent pinned him to the ground, King is heard screaming, “I’m a US citizen!” as his loved ones quickly approached the situation, repeating, “He’s a citizen!” 

“You don’t know what’s going on, so get the *** back!” the agent is heard shouting in response, before another agent approached, yelling at everyone to back up. 

In an interview with a local ABC 7 outlet, King explained that the agents appeared to have been looking for someone when they entered the store. It was not until he heard agents calling for backup that he decided to leave. 

“He was just saying, ‘Why are you running?'” King recalled of the moment he was tackled and arrested. “But I’m telling him, ‘I’m a U.S. citizen. I’m here. I’m legal. I’m born here.’ So, they didn’t try to hear none of that, though.”

According to the Department of Homeland Security, the incident occurred after a 30-minute pursuit of an allegedly undocumented driver, who was involved in a collision with a truck of border patrol agents. 

“Once the vehicle was stopped, the suspects, who are both illegal aliens attempted to flee on foot. As Border Patrol arrested the subjects and attempted to secure the scene a crowd began to form,” DHS said, per ABC7. 

Though King was ultimately released from the ICE agents’ custody, the incident reportedly left both physical and mental scars on the recent high school graduate. After sitting in a car with agents for hours he says, “They just accepted, like, their defeat. It wasn’t no talking in the back between both of them, and they knew each other…I just graduated high school. So, they can come for, literally, anybody. And that’s not right.”

This is not the first time ICE agents have been reported using excessive force on Black teens in the Chicago area. That same morning, as protesters surrounded the same collision, a 15-year-old Black and Hispanic boy was tackled to the ground, kneed in the back, and restrained with zip ties by Border Patrol agents, according to attorneys from the Romanucci and Blandin law firm, as reported by Block Club Chicago.

The teen was then taken to a federal facility where he was handcuffed for hours, not read his rights or allowed to contact his mother, who had no idea where her son was at the time. 

“This is not law enforcement; this is the playbook of authoritarian regimes,” attorney Antonio M. Romanucci said in a statement, per the outlet. “The behavior by people who have sworn to serve our communities and country is a painful parallel to the days of the Ku Klux Klan patrolling the streets with their faces covered, terrorizing people of color. The horrific behavior has to stop.”

However, DHS says the teen was arrested for allegedly hitting an ICE agent in the face with an egg. 

“[He was] taken to the FBI Field Office in Chicago, where he freely admitted without questioning to throwing eggs at agents. His attorney met with him at the field office, and he was released without charges,” the unnamed spokesperson said. “Secretary [Kristi] Noem’s message to the rioters is clear: you will not stop us or slow us down.” 

Greg Bovino, Kristi Noem, and DHS need to answer for their unchecked attacks on Chicago residents.

ICE is an out-of-control danger to our peaceful communities.

The images from the Sun-Times today speak for themselves. pic.twitter.com/XQsOom3qRZ— Governor JB Pritzker (@GovPritzker) October 15, 2025

As the Trump administration continues its push for federal agents, including ICE and the National Guard, to take over cities across the country like Chicago, now more than ever, it’s important to stay vigilant, be educated on your rights, and communicate with your neighbors as Vic Mensa previously advised.