CHICAGO – Tensions are escalating in Chicago following the reported detention of Willian Gimenez, a day laborer who is a key plaintiff in a federal lawsuit alleging abuse by off-duty Chicago police officers working security at a local Home Depot. Advocates and his legal team claim Gimenez’s arrest by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on Friday, September 12, 2025, is a direct act of retaliation for his efforts to expose alleged misconduct, a charge ICE refutes, stating he was apprehended for being in the country illegally.
Lawsuit Alleges Pattern of Abuse Against Migrant Workers
The core of the controversy stems from a federal lawsuit filed in August 2024, in which Gimenez and four other migrant day laborers accuse several off-duty Chicago police officers, along with Home Depot employees, of a pattern of discrimination, assault, and false imprisonment. The lawsuit details incidents occurring between October 2023 and May 2025 at the Home Depot located at 47th Street and Western Avenue. According to the complaint, the laborers, many of whom are from Venezuela and Colombia, allege they were unlawfully detained, handcuffed, beaten, kicked, and verbally abused while being held in a private room within the store. These actions, the suit contends, were part of a conspiracy to criminalize their attempts to find work in Chicago.
Kevin Herrera, legal director at Raise the Floor Alliance, who is representing the plaintiffs, has been vocal about the systematic nature of the alleged abuses. City public records cited in connection with the lawsuit indicate a significant increase in trespassing arrests at the Western Avenue Home Depot since August 2023, with a disproportionate number of those arrested being of Venezuelan nationality, lending credence to claims of selective enforcement.
Home Depot has stated it takes the allegations seriously and is conducting an investigation. The City of Chicago and the Chicago Police Department have declined to comment on the pending litigation. The Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) has acknowledged its awareness of the incident and ongoing investigation.
Detention Fuels Retaliation Fears
On Friday, September 12, 2025, Willian Gimenez was reportedly detained by ICE agents while driving in the Little Village neighborhood of Chicago. His attorney, Kevin Herrera, expressed strong conviction that the arrest was an act of reprisal. “Gimenez has again been profiled, not only for being a Spanish-speaking person in another country, but for being someone who exposed racism and abuse of power in the United States,” Herrera stated, emphasizing that Gimenez possesses a work permit and is actively pursuing an asylum claim.
ICE, however, has maintained that Gimenez was arrested for being in the United States unlawfully. Immigration authorities released a statement indicating that Gimenez is an “illegal alien” with charges for criminal trespassing and a history of failing to appear in court, including a missed immigration court date in April 2024, which resulted in an order for his removal. This news has become a trending topic among immigrant rights advocates and within the broader news cycle.
Broader Context of Immigration Enforcement
Gimenez’s detention occurred on the same day that an ICE agent fatally shot Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez during a traffic stop in a Chicago suburb, amid a broader immigration enforcement operation in the region. These incidents have drawn sharp criticism from Latino leaders and elected officials.
“These incidents make us all ask, if ICE can kill one of our neighbors in broad daylight… if they can arrest someone for joining a lawsuit or simply for being Latino, what’s to stop them from getting any one of us?” questioned U.S. Representative Chuy Garcia, a Democrat from Illinois, during a news conference outside an ICE facility. U.S. Representative Delia Ramirez also commented, stating, “The Department of Homeland Security has become the department of state terror.”
The Department of Homeland Security has characterized its enforcement actions, part of an initiative labeled “Operation Midway Blitz,” as targeting individuals with criminal records and those violating immigration laws, pushing back against claims of indiscriminate raids. However, immigrant advocates argue that such operations create a climate of fear and intimidation, potentially deterring individuals from reporting abuses or seeking justice.
Advocacy and Response
Following Gimenez’s detention, immigrant rights groups, including Latino Union of Chicago and Raise the Floor Alliance, along with supporters and Gimenez’s family, organized protests and a news conference outside an ICE facility in Broadview, Illinois, demanding his immediate release. They assert that his detention is a clear case of retaliation and a violation of his rights as someone who spoke out against injustice.
This case highlights the precarious position of migrant workers who seek employment and face exploitation, with the added risk of facing immigration enforcement actions when they attempt to assert their rights. The events in Chicago are part of a larger, ongoing national conversation about immigration policy, police accountability, and the protection of vulnerable populations. The popular narrative of Chicago as a welcoming city is being challenged by these recent events, raising significant questions about how migrant workers are treated and protected within the legal and enforcement systems.
