In immigration crackdown, DHS statements on arrests face a problem of credibility

By Eric Levenson, Josh Campbell, CNN

(CNN) — A series of public statements from the Department of Homeland Security during its migrant crackdown in Chicago and across the country has been contradicted or undermined by local officials, a civil rights attorney and a legal filing.

These issues have been particularly notable in three prominent incidents: the arrest of a WGN employee, the shooting of a US citizen accused of ramming police vehicles and ICE’s detention of a 13-year-old in Massachusetts.

A closer look at the incidents underscores the broader skepticism of the Department of Homeland Security’s statements as federal agents have moved into city streets in Chicago and elsewhere.

Last week, a federal judge temporarily halted the Trump administration’s deployment of National Guard troops in Illinois, saying its statements about protests were “not reliable.” The administration had highlighted several arrests for carrying weapons and assaulting federal agents – but the judge responded that federal grand juries had refused to indict at least three of those arrested, indicating a lack of probable cause.

“In addition to demonstrating a potential lack of candor by these affiants, it also calls into question their ability to accurately assess the facts,” US District Court Judge April Perry wrote in her order of those incidents.

A judge openly questioning the credibility of law enforcement reflects a larger problem and raises questions as to what recourse ordinary citizens or immigrants have when accused.

“A lawyer’s credibility isn’t just about personal integrity; it’s a factor judges are required to consider when ruling,” said Elliot Williams, CNN legal analyst and former federal prosecutor. “Simply put, parties lose when courts find their lawyers untrustworthy. DHS’s problem is how alarmingly consistent judges have been with their questions about the department’s work and its attorneys’ trustworthiness.”

The Trump administration has appealed the ruling. DHS has said it is targeting arrests of the “worst of the worst,” and its agents are facing a surge in attacks against them.

To understand this credibility issue, CNN took a closer look at DHS statements about the three high-profile incidents involving federal immigration enforcement.

Asked about the contradictions between the DHS statements and other evidence, a spokesperson said, “We stand by everything we have previously said.”

Arrest of WGN employee

Video from a bystander last week captured the arrest of an employee working for the Chicago TV station WGN.

In the video, officers put the employee, Debbie Brockman, in handcuffs while she lies prone on the ground, her pants falling down. The officers then put her in an unmarked vehicle and leave the scene.

“I asked the agents like, well, why are you detaining this person?” Josh Thomas, the witness who took the video of the arrest, told CNN. “They basically tell me she’s obstructing justice.”

Thomas said he did not witness Brockman’s interaction with the agents before she was detained.

Brockman was released without charges – either for obstructing justice or assault – after about seven hours of detention, according to her attorneys.

After the video spread on social media, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a post on X that the arrest came as US Border Patrol was driving around conducting immigration enforcement.

“Deborah Brockman, a U.S. citizen, threw objects at Border Patrol’s car and she was placed under arrest for assault on a federal law enforcement officer,” McLaughlin said.

In a statement, her attorneys disputed McLaughlin’s version of events and said she was attacked by federal agents while on her morning commute.

“Ms. Brockman and her legal team adamantly deny any allegation that she assaulted anyone. Rather, Ms. Brockman was the one who was violently assaulted by federal agents on her way to work,” the attorneys said.

Car ramming suspect and firearm

DHS’s statements about the shooting of a 30-year-old US citizen have been undermined by a criminal complaint and by an attorney who watched body-camera footage of the incident.

Marimar Martinez, the US citizen, was arrested and shot multiple times by a Customs and Border Protection agent in Chicago on October 4.

McLaughlin, the DHS assistant secretary, said in a post on X that multiple drivers, one of whom was “armed with a semi-automatic weapon,” rammed a law enforcement vehicle.

“Law enforcement was forced to deploy their weapons and fire defensive shots at an armed US citizen who drove herself to the hospital to get care for wounds,” she said.

A DHS press release repeated the allegation that Martinez was “armed with a semi-automatic weapon.” Together, the statements gave the impression Martinez had been brandishing her firearm when she was shot.

Martinez was charged in federal court with forcibly assaulting, impeding, and interfering with a federal law enforcement officer. The criminal complaint, though, does not mention a semi-automatic weapon or that Martinez was armed.

Instead, the complaint alleges Martinez drove into and side-swiped a CBP vehicle. When an agent got out of the vehicle, Martinez drove at the agent, who fired about five shots at Martinez, the complaint states.

In court Wednesday, Assistant US Attorney Aaron Richard Bond said Martinez “forcibly impeded Border Patrol agents,” and that the case involved a dangerous weapon – a motor vehicle. Martinez pleaded not guilty.

Martinez’s attorney, Christopher Parente, told CNN she has a concealed-carry license and had a handgun in her purse, inside a holster with the snap closed. “(It was) never brought out in this incident,” he said.

Parente has disputed the government’s account generally as well. He said he viewed body-camera footage, which has not been made public, that he said shows a CBP vehicle swerved into Martinez’s vehicle — not the other way around. Then, “within seconds,” an officer jumped out of his vehicle and fired at Martinez, Parente said.

“Normally in a criminal case I would not speak to the media until the case is over, but there is such misinformation out there that the public needs to see this is not what they’ve been sold by the government,” Parente told CNN.

“I think anybody who sees what’s going on today is going to question these indictments coming out of the Department of Justice,” he added.

Arrest of Massachusetts teen

A 13-year-old in Everett, Massachusetts, was detained by ICE and moved to a different state last week in a case in which local officials have contradicted a key statement from a DHS official.

The arrest took place October 9 when police called Josiele Berto, the mother of 13-year-old Arthur, to say her son had been arrested. The teenager was then detained by ICE and moved to Virginia, she soon learned.

The Berto family is from Brazil and have had a pending asylum application since arriving in the US in 2021, Berto said.

McLaughlin, the DHS official, posted on X what she said were the “facts” of the case, saying the teenager “was in possession of a firearm and 5-7 inch knife when arrested.”

Everett Mayor Carlo DeMaria said a teenage boy – who he did not name because he is a juvenile – was arrested after Everett Police received a “credible tip” accusing him of making “a violent threat against another boy within our public school.”

He confirmed the presence of the knife but was adamant that the teen did not have a firearm. “No guns were found,” DeMaria said.

DHS did not respond to CNN’s request for comment on the discrepancy between the statements by McLaughlin and DeMaria over whether the child had a gun.

Judge calls for use of body cameras

Credibility questions have long trailed law enforcement agencies, whether federal or local, and police statements immediately after an arrest have occasionally proved to be incorrect or misleading. The murder of George Floyd, for example, was initially described by Minneapolis Police as, “Man dies after medical incident during police interaction.”

Juliette Kayyem, CNN senior national security analyst and former DHS executive, said misleading claims can be exposed in the modern age.

“In an era where everyone has a camera in their pocket, social media has been flooded with videos of immigration operations,” she said. “DHS must seriously understand that any blatantly misleading claim about tactics can often be easily disproved in this new digital age, especially if they’re happening frequently.”

The credibility questions have also placed a spotlight on one law enforcement tool often missing from immigration enforcement operations: body-worn cameras. The technology is a staple at police departments across the country, documenting encounters with the public and helping clarify questionable incidents and competing claims.

On Thursday, a federal judge in Chicago questioned whether federal law enforcement agents are following an earlier order and said she will require all agents with body cameras to have them on during encounters with immigration protesters.

“That’s the nice thing about body cameras is that they pick up events before the triggering event happens,” she said.

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CNN’s Omar Jimenez, Bill Kirkos, Priscilla Alvarez, Andy Rose, Alessandra Freitas, Taylor Romine, Jordan D. Brown and Sarah Dewberry contributed to this report.