A one-year-old girl was reportedly hospitalized after U.S. Border Patrol agents allegedly pepper-sprayed her family during an ICE operation in Cicero, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago.
The child’s father, Rafael Veraza, claimed that he and his daughter, Ariana, were sprayed with the chemical irritant near the parking lot of Sam’s Club on Saturday, November 8, 2025.
According to Veraza, his family was driving out of the parking lot with their car windows rolled down when agents allegedly sprayed pepper spray into the vehicle. Both Ariana and her father were later hospitalized for treatment following the incident.
Speaking during a press conference on Sunday, Veraza recounted the harrowing experience, stating that his family never made it inside the store.
He said that after noticing a helicopter hovering overhead and hearing whistles that signaled ICE activity, he decided to leave the area.
“Just as I was trying to leave, a dark-colored truck pulled up beside us and started spraying pepper spray inside the car for no reason,” he said.
“I got sprayed all over my face. I could barely breathe, and because of my asthma, the pain was unbearable. But what really broke me was watching my baby girl struggle to open her eyes and breathe.”
Veraza emphasized that his family had no involvement in any protests or confrontations, adding:
“I was not a protester. I didn’t have anything against them.”
The Veraza family said they are now considering legal action to cover the medical care their daughter needs, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
However, officials have denied the family’s claims.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin refuted the allegations on social media, writing:
“No. There was no crowd control or pepper spray deployed in a Sam’s Club parking lot. Over the weekend in Chicago, law enforcement was shot at, had bricks thrown at them, and were rammed with vehicles.”
A separate DHS press release stated that Border Patrol agents were attacked while conducting immigration enforcement operations in the nearby Little Village area, where a “hostile crowd boxed them into a street and alleyway.”
The incident remains under public scrutiny, with immigrant rights advocates calling for a transparent investigation into the Veraza family’s allegations.
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