Protest erupts over ICE arrest of "innocent dad" - except he's an illegal immigrant with a long rap sheet and ties to a violent gang | Law Enforcement Today

CHICAGO, IL - Authorities with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested an illegal immigrant with ties to a violent gang and has a long rap sheet. The arrest reportedly sparked anger and a protest as he was arrested while dropping off his kids at school, but ICE revealed that 37-year-old Francisco Andrade-Berrera has convictions for drug trafficking, gang loitering, and damage to property.

According to Fox News, Andrade-Berrera is a Mexican national. He was picked up by ICE on Wednesday, February 26th near a Southside Chicago school, leading to activists and local leaders holding a rally condemning the move. Andrade-Berrera was reportedly handcuffed near the school. In response to the arrest, two nearby schools activated "Community Wellness Protocols" and notified the parents that additional social work support would be available to help students cope with the stressful and upsetting nature of the incident.

The rally took place outside the Chicago Public schools. During the protest, Chicago alderman Bryon Sigcho Lopez said, "When parents are being grabbed from our schools, we must ask, what is Chicago Public Schools doing to protect our children?" Hilario Dominguez of the Chicago Teachers Union also blasted the arrest and had a few choice words for President Donald Trump.

Dominquez said, "His children watched as their daddy was put in handcuffs by agents carrying out the orders of a tyrant president." The rally and the outbursts all took place before ICE provided more facts on the case. Andrade-Berrera has been removed from the United States twice; once in 2005 and again in 2013. Prior reports indicate that he has at least four children.

The two students who were in the car were taken to their schools after the arrest, but agents dud not attempt to enter either Victoria Soto High School or Jovita Idar Elementary. This was confirmed by ICE and school officials. It is unclear if the two students are Andrade-Berrera's children.

In 2021, Andrade-Berrera pleaded guilty to purchasing roughly five ounces of cocaine that federal prosecutors in Chicago said he planned to sell. He was sentenced to three years of supervised release for that and given two weeks credit for being in jail. In a letter to the judge, Andrade-Berrera described himself as a husband and the "father of four beautiful kids." He wrote that he worked as a chef and dreamed of opening his own restaurant.

He wrote, "I have worked hard to support my family all these years and made sure they have a good life. If I could go back in time I would without hesitation." The incident from Wednesday follows a similar situation that happened back in January when Chicago Public Schools wrongly reported that ICE agents had tried to enter a different school.

Tom Weitzel, a former police chief in Riverside, Illinois, said that local Democrats are trying to politicize the arrests and make ICE out to be a boogeyman. He said, "They're going to put out anything that benefits their agenda, benefits their narrative, or benefits their political agenda ... So they just look at this as a President Trump initiative to just go around the country and just scoop people off the sidewalks and out of our schools. And that isn't the case."

He added, "There hasn't been one single case in the United States where ICE has gone into a school and removed somebody forcibly from the school. That is completely false."