Congressman Cuffed After Deportation Appeal

During a meeting Monday, Illinois Rep. Luis Gutierrez tried to convince Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials to reverse a decision to deport a Mexican immigrant who is to be separated from her six children. Instead, he ended up in handcuffs. The congressman had been among a delegation of immigrant advocates that met with ICE officials in Chicago to discuss specific deportation cases, including that of Francisca Lino, whose is to be deported in July though her husband and four of her six children are US citizens. But Gutierrez and others weren't pleased with what officials had to say and ultimately refused to leave. "He's going to be staying inside until he gets answers, even if that means risking arrest," his spokesman told NBC Chicago at the time.

An ICE rep says Gutierrez, a Democrat, sought "actions and assurances that ICE officials couldn’t provide" and was "briefly placed in flexible plastic restraints" by federal officers after repeated warnings to leave. However, ICE officials asked officers to remove the restraints after just two minutes, reports USA Today. In an interview with CNN, Gutierrez expressed no gratitude, accusing ICE of lying about targeting criminals. "The fact is, they're going after DREAMers," he said. "Somebody has to stand up for them." In a statement, he added Monday's incident was an example of "heavy-handed government [working] in secret all to make the new strongman President look tough and to satisfy the cravings of his coliseum audience for some immigrants to sacrifice." (An arrest is nothing new for Gutierrez.)