Copyright inquisitr
The neighborhoods of America are witnessing some of the harshest moments of separation, anxiety, and violence, all thanks to the controversial ICE raids, which are taking place left, right, and centre. Driven by the federal government’s order to filter out illegal immigrants, it is often the case that the agency personnel resort to violent malpractices and create chaos. From not providing any clarity behind the reason for arrest to quite literally jumping over the suspected individuals with a pair of handcuffs, the ICE protocols are bearing the brunt of excessive criticism lately. Recently, a more shocking episode of an ICE arrest came to light, after a man arrested by the agents ended up in a hospital emergency room. With his family members left in complete disarray and worry, the 53-year-old Ricardo Rodriguez was so violently attacked during his arrest that he suffered a significant head injury and bruises all over his body. In a viral video of his arrest that has been circulating on the internet, Rodriguez can be seen riding a bike to get groceries when he was stopped in the middle of the road by two federal agents. Without any word or clarification, one of the agents immediately grabbed Ricardo in a chokehold and even struck his head once, before two more agents arrived and handcuffed him. Further details of the shocking arrest have been shared by the man’s niece, Stephanie Suaine, who has strongly condemned the lack of humanity shown towards his uncle, not to forget how they punched and choked him during the time of arrest. Addressing the chilling video of Ricardo’s detainment, which has come forth, she said, “My uncle got up and they punched him… they’re still choking him. It makes me mad because he’s old already; they shouldn’t be treating old people like that.” While the way in which the federal agents dealt with the man is shocking enough, what escalated the matter even more was when Ricardo complained of chest pains. This prompted the personnel to bring him to the emergency room of the Gottlieb Memorial Hospital on Sunday morning. It can be easily understood that the manhandling he received at the hands of the agents perhaps declined his health rapidly. For the unfamiliar, Rodriguez had immigrated from California back in the 1980s, when he was a teenager. He later moved and settled down in the Melrose Park vicinity, near which he was detained by the ICE. In a more shocking development following his arrest, the man’s immediate family members have been barred from visiting him at the hospital. His niece Stephanie revealed that she and her mom Dora Suaine (who is Ricardo’s sister) did arrive at the hospital to enquire about his wellbeing, but were stopped from even seeing his glimpse by two masked men posted outside the room. Interestingly, when the niece asked the agents posted if they were with the ICE, these men vaguely confirmed that they were part of ‘an agency’ but did not confirm the name. Despite various attempts, Ricardo Rodriguez’s family was denied access to him, and the hospital guards further escorted everyone to the waiting room, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. His own sister Dora, who is a valid citizen of the U.S., asked if his brother, after recovery, would be deported and if, in that case, she would be allowed to move with him. The guards could not give her a valid answer. Meanwhile, she did manage to catch a fleeting glimpse of her brother and was taken by shock to see him profusely bleeding from the head, and a bandage wrapped around the wound. While there has been no comment on the matter from the Department of Homeland Security, the fate of Rodriguez remains in the balance, while his family awaits an answer. The hospital, on the other hand, in their statement, addressed the 53-year-old getting arrested, but did not share a single detail about his prognosis or how he was doing. They simply echoed being compatible with whatever is demanded by the ICE and highlighted the protocols. Their statement read as “Loyola Medicine treats federal agencies like the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) the same way we treat all law enforcement personnel. If they need to enter our facilities, they coordinate with our Security team. This morning, ICE personnel came to Gottlieb Memorial Hospital to accompany a patient in their custody who required medical care. We cannot share any information on patients.” For the unversed, with Trump’s orders against the illegal immigrants, so far, the department has arrested over 1000 people since September. However, keeping aside their task, the kind of aggressive tactics that these personnel frequently resort to has been strongly criticized by the people as well as the opponents of the federal government.
