A Border Patrol agent in Chicago shot a woman after she and at least one other person allegedly rammed cars into vehicles carrying federal authorities, as protests over immigration enforcement intensify and the Trump administration vows to deploy federal troops to the Democratic stronghold.
Chicago residents Marimar Martinez and Anthony Ian Santos Ruiz were arrested on charges of assaulting, impeding and interfering with the work of federal agents with a deadly weapon, according to a criminal complaint filed in the Northern District of Illinois. Attorneys for Martinez and Ruiz could not immediately be reached for comment.
Authorities say on Saturday, Oct. 4, Martinez and Ruiz rammed their cars into a vehicle carrying Border Patrol agents in a suburb of Chicago. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said agents shot Martinez, a U.S. citizen, and accused her of possessing a “semi-automatic weapon.” A criminal complaint establishing probable cause did not mention any weapon in Martinez’s possession.
Officials’ statements on the incident have varied. The criminal complaint says at least four cars were involved in trapping the agents’ vehicle. Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for DHS, said on X agents were “boxed in by 10 cars.” It appears only Martinez and Ruiz have faced criminal charges in connection with the incident.
The episode unfolded in Broadview, a suburb west of the city that has become a flashpoint for protests against heightened immigration enforcement. Several protesters were arrested over the weekend and multiple Border Patrol agents were sent to the hospital after clashes outside the Broadview ICE facility, according to DHS.
Read more: ‘You are making war’: Chicago suburb tells ICE they want them out
A criminal complaint filed in federal court said that on Oct. 4, a “civilian convoy” including Martinez and Ruiz were following Border Patrol agents as they were conducting an operation in Oak Lawn, Illinois.
The pair “drove aggressively and erratically” toward the Border Patrol cruiser, running red lights and stop signs, and driving the wrong way down one way streets, the complaint says. The chase brought them into Chicago, where authorities say at least four vehicles “boxed in” the Border Patrol agents.
Including photographs and citing body camera footage, the complaint says Martinez and Ruiz struck the Border Patrol vehicle around 10:30 a.m.
After the collisions, Martinez allegedly drove toward one of the Border Patrol agents, who fired five shots at her before she continued driving away. The complaint says Martinez then headed to a repair shop one mile from the crash site and was taken by paramedics to a hospital, where she was treated for gunshot wounds. The complaint did not mention a “semi-automatic weapon,” as the statement from the Department of Homeland Security did.
Federal agents arrested Ruiz at a gas station a half block from where the collision occurred, according to the complaint. His mother, Elizabeth Ruiz, said in an interview with the New York Times that her son gave a different account of the incident. He told his mother that other cars were chasing federal agents and that the agents had struck his vehicle, the outlet reported.
“‘Mom, they hit me, they hit me,’” she told the New York Times, recalling her conversation with her son. “‘I said, ‘What do you mean?’ And he said ‘ICE.’”
Chicago has seen large-scale raids involving helicopters and masked agents since last month, when the White House ordered an immigration crackdown known as Operation Midway Blitz. More than 800 people have been arrested, according to federal tallies.
For weeks, hundreds have protested outside an ICE facility in Broadview, with protesters blocking ICE vehicles and federal agents deploying pepper spray, tear gas and non-lethal ammunition.
After DHS agents fired at Martinez, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem vowed to send reinforcements and special operations to the scene.
On Saturday, Oct. 4, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker warned that President Donald Trump’s administration plans to federalize 300 members of the Illinois National Guard.
“Trump Administration’s Department of War gave me an ultimatum: call up your troops, or we will,” Pritzker wrote on X. “It is absolutely outrageous and un-American to demand a Governor send military troops within our own borders and against our will.”
Trump has deployed National Guard troops to other Democratic-run cities, including Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.
A Trump-appointed federal judge over the weekend stopped the Trump administration from sending National Guard troops to Portland, Oregon, while a lawsuit on the matter winds through court.
Contributing: Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy and Michael Loria, USA TODAY
(This story has been updated to add new information.)

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