Audio: Chicago police told not to help Border Patrol agents surrounded by left-wing protesters

Chicago Police Department officials were ordered to leave the scene and not help Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials on Saturday after federal agents were rammed and surrounded by violent protesters in Chicago.

In a Saturday press release, the Department of Homeland Security announced that Border Patrol officers were “ambushed by domestic terrorists that rammed federal agents with their vehicles.” The press release noted that a suspect identified as Marimar Martinez, who was armed with a semi-automatic weapon, “took defensive fire from CBP agents,” was hospitalized, and was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Another suspect, identified as Anthony Ian Santos Ruiz, was also arrested for ramming law enforcement officials.

“The scene became increasingly violent as more domestic terrorists gathered and began throwing smoke, gas, rocks, and bottles at DHS law enforcement. Another domestic terrorist was arrested for assaulting CBP at the scene,” the Department of Homeland Security stated. “Following JB Prtizker’s refusal to allow local police to help secure the scene, Secretary Noem has deployed special operations teams to restore law and order.”

According to the press release, another domestic terrorist followed ICE officials and rammed an ICE vehicle, while another ICE vehicle was “mobbed by domestic terrorists” after it sustained a popped tire. The press release noted that law enforcement officials were forced to abandon the vehicle, which was “significantly damaged,” and that multiple officials were hospitalized.

In a Saturday statement on X, formerly Twitter, Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin confirmed that the Chicago Police Department refused to help federal officials secure the area, resulting in the deployment of special operations.

“Pritzker’s Chicago Police Department is leaving the shooting scene and refuses to assist us in securing the area,” McLaughlin tweeted. “There is a growing crowd and we are deploying special operations to control the scene.”

Fox News reported that the outlet obtained an internal Chicago Police Department dispatch, which showed that local police officers were ordered by the chief of patrol to not respond to Border Patrol’s requests for help after agents were surrounded by violent protesters following Saturday’s ramming incident.

The dispatch message obtained by Fox News stated, “PLEASE CHIEF OF PATROL NO UNITS WILL RESPOND TO THIS AS RELATED FROM 04-Oc5-2025/12:34:44…CALLER IS 1 OF APPROX 30 ARMED PATROL AGENTS (ICE) WHO ARE BEING SURROUNDED BY A LARGE CROWD OF PEOPLE REQUESTING CPD.”

In an audio recording, a dispatcher can be heard instructing local law enforcement officials, saying, “Per the chief of patrol… all units clear out from there, we’re not sending anybody over to that location.

In response, a police officer said, “We’re going to clear out as soon as we can, we’re like blocked in over here so we’re going to do the best we can to get out of here as soon as we can.”