Tricia McLaughlin, Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs | https://www.dhs.gov/
DHS officials have addressed recent reports about an incident in Chicago, clarifying that claims of a "kidnapping" involving a U.S. teenager are false. The Department stated that on October 14, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents were conducting an immigration enforcement operation when an illegal immigrant used a vehicle to ram into a Border Patrol car in an attempt to escape.
Agents pursued the suspects and used a precision immobilization technique to stop them. Two Venezuelan nationals, identified as Luis Gerardo Pirela-Ramirez and Yonder Enrique Tenefe-Perez, were arrested for assaulting law enforcement officers. Authorities said that while the scene was being secured, a group gathered and began throwing objects at officers, leading to several arrests.
A U.S. citizen teenager was among those arrested after throwing an egg at a CBP officer's head and admitting to having thrown other objects. Another individual was taken into custody for throwing chemical munitions back at agents.
Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin commented on media coverage of the event: “A US teenager was arrested for assaulting law enforcement in Chicago—any claims that CBP ‘kidnapped’ a U.S. citizen and held him in a warehouse are bizarre and categorically FALSE. These are more disgusting smears peddled by the media and billboard law firms,” she said. “This attack is not an isolated incident, and it reflects a growing and dangerous trend of illegal aliens violently resisting arrest, and agitators and criminals ramming cars into our law enforcement officers.Meanwhile those same federal law enforcement officers are going without pay thanks to Democrats’ government shutdown. The fact that this attack was carried out by two illegal aliens highlights the need for federal law enforcement to continue doing their job of enforcing the laws of our nation across the country.”
According to DHS, Luis Gerardo Pirela-Ramirez had previously been ordered removed from the United States by an immigration judge in August 2024. He was hospitalized after complaining of pain following his arrest for assault on a federal agent. Yonder Enrique Tenefe-Perez, who had also been apprehended by Border Patrol in 2024, was arrested as an accessory.
DHS officials emphasized that misinformation about such incidents can contribute to increased violence against law enforcement personnel.
