The Department of Homeland Security says an Evanston man injured by ICE agents on Howard Street was not cooperative when agents approached him on Sunday, Sept. 20.

The statement, emailed to Evanston Now on Tuesday, Sept. 22, is the federal government's first public account of the incident. The account differs from eyewitness descriptions of the encounter, including accounts that agents pinned the man to the ground.

DHS said ICE agents encountered someone who resembled a target during a "targeted enforcement operation in Evanston." The agency said the man refused to identify himself after agents gave him "lawful commands" and that officers left the scene "without further incident once the individual finally identified himself."

Video of the encounter, reviewed by Evanston Now, shows a different sequence. The man can be seen lying in the street, distancing himself from agents and telling them to back away before they drove off. Bystanders aided the man until paramedics arrived.

As we reported Sept. 22, witness Ryan Garton told Evanston Now he saw an agent's knee pressed against the man's back outside El Pueblito Mexican Grill at 1805 Howard St. Garton said the man had been walking to CVS with hospital discharge paperwork from an emergency room visit the day before.

Miguel Olivares, who was on break at El Pueblito and recorded part of the confrontation, told ABC7 Chicago on Sept. 21: "… they had him pinned against the floor, and it looked like one of the agents hit him in the face."

The DHS statement did not address the man's injuries. Evanston police found him on the ground with injuries to his head, neck and teeth. He was taken by ambulance to St. Francis Hospital. A witness reported blood on the man's shirt. Police said an agent also had blood on his hand.

In its statement, DHS cited ICE authority under 8 USC 1357, a federal statute governing immigration enforcement. The agency also referenced a 2025 Supreme Court ruling, written by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, that allows federal officers to use "apparent ethnicity," as well as other considerations, as a factor in establishing reasonable suspicion. The practice has been informally called a "Kavanaugh stop." DHS said the court had "already vindicated" the agency's practices.

Evanston police Cmdr. Chelsea Brown said on Monday, Sept. 21, that the department could not provide personally identifiable information or other details that could identify the parties involved.

An ICE agent told Evanston police that five federal agents had been operating in the area in separate vehicles, according to Patch. The agents said the person they were seeking had addresses in Chicago and that a warrant existed for that person's arrest. Federal agents told police they left after bystanders began to gather because they feared they would be attacked.

Evanston police are conducting a video canvass and collecting photographs and videos from witnesses. Evanston Now has filed Freedom of Information Act requests with both DHS and the Evanston Police Department seeking body-worn camera footage.

The Sept. 20 incident is the first reported violence involving federal agents in Evanston since December, according to Evanston Now. In August, Mayor Daniel Biss announced that Police Chief Schenita Stewart had submitted a formal request for guidance to the Cook County State's Attorney's Office regarding a clash between residents and federal agents on Oct. 31, 2025.

Anyone with information can contact the Evanston Police Department or submit an anonymous tip by texting 274637 with a message beginning "EPDTIP."