A Hispanic father from suburban Chicago reported that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents pepper-sprayed him while he was in his car with his one-year-old daughter.
The incident occurred on Saturday, November 8, in a Sam’s Club parking lot during an immigration operation linked to the federal Operation Midway Blitz campaign.
ICE pepper-sprays family with baby
Trump’s ICE GESTAPO actually drive-by pepper-sprayed this family in Cicero, Illinois.
And their 1-year old daughter is hit! pic.twitter.com/U1yhVC5w0J
– Morgan J. Freeman (@mjfree) November 11, 2025
The victim, identified as Rafael Veraza, reported that he was with his family when they heard sirens, honking horns and the noise of a helicopter flying over the area.
They decided to leave the area, but a hooded agent approached their vehicle and, without warning, sprayed pepper spray through the open window.
“I had water dripping down my face and I tried to do the same with my daughter, not knowing what effects the gas might cause her,” Veraza said during a press conference, CBS News reported.
She added that her baby “started having difficulty breathing,” although she was not hospitalized.
Veraza, who suffers from asthma, did have to be transported to a hospital.
“When I arrived, my heart rate was 263 beats per minute,” he explained.
Doctors contacted the poison control center to evaluate his daughter’s exposure, while he suffered severe facial numbness, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Veraza says that all she seeks is justice and safety for her daughter: “No one should have to go through something like this, least of all a baby”.
DHS denies the facts
In response to the complaint, Tricia McLaughlin, spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), denied that the incident had occurred.
“No pepper spray or crowd control maneuvers were used in the Sam’s Club parking lot,” he said in a statement to the Associated Press.
DHS acknowledged, however, that there were clashes between federal agents and protesters nearby, with some residents throwing paint cans and bricks at official vehicles.
No injuries were reported, but the agency assured that it will continue its operations “despite the acts of violence”.
Tension over Operation Midway Blitz
The incident comes amid growing discontent over Operation Midway Blitz, an immigration crackdown ordered by President Donald Trump that has deployed Border Patrol and ICE agents to cities in the northern part of the country.
The goal, according to the White House, is to detain immigrants with serious criminal records.
Federal authorities indicated that Border Patrol agents, under the command of Commander Gregory Bovino, will leave Chicago in the next few days after six weeks of deployment.
Nevertheless, ICE will maintain a presence in the city, which maintains tension with local leaders and civil organizations that denounce abuses and excessive use of force.
The case of Rafael Veraza has set off alarms among immigrant communities in the Chicago metropolitan area, which for weeks have reported a climate of fear and distrust in the face of the raids.
Civil rights organizations are calling for an independent investigation into what happened and for federal oversight of immigration operations.
Filed under: ICE sprays pepper spray on baby
