Family members of a man hospitalized after being arrested by federal immigration agents in Melrose Park on Sunday morning said they were not allowed to see Ricardo Aguayo Rodriguez during his stay in the hospital and no longer know where he is.
According to a statement from the Department of Homeland Security: “He will remain in custody under medical supervision pending removal proceedings.”
Stephanie Suane, 33, Aguayo Rodriguez’s niece, said her uncle was released Monday afternoon from Loyola Medicine’s Gottlieb Memorial Hospital, but the doctor did not tell them where he was sent. The family believes he may have been moved to the Broadview detention facility.
Dora Suane, Aguayo Rodriguez’s older sister, said earlier Monday that she was denied a visit by the Melrose Park hospital for a second day in a row.
Videos shared on social media show Aguayo Rodriguez struggling on the ground, lying next to a white truck, while a federal agent kept him in a headlock.
“Por favor, amigo,” he can be heard pleading as he groans and yells in pain. “Please, friend.”
According to the DHS statement, Aguayo Rodriguez fled from U.S. Border Patrol agents and resisted arrest.
“He actively resisted and assaulted law enforcement,” the statement said. “The agent deployed pepper spray to deescalate the situation and stop the assaults. After Rodriguez continued to violently resist and put law enforcement in danger, the agent delivered strikes as a last resort. As a precaution, Border Patrol took the suspect to a hospital for medical treatment. He will remain in custody under medical supervision pending removal proceedings.”
Aguayo Rodriguez has a criminal record that includes convictions for assault and battery as well as possession of a controlled substance, according to the statement.
Dora Suane, 57, told the Tribune in Spanish Sunday that two agents were standing guard outside his room when she arrived at the hospital Sunday. They wouldn’t let her in, but she caught a glance from the doorway and saw her brother in bed, with bandages on his face and head.
“They didn’t even say anything to us,” she said.
A hospital spokesperson said in an emailed statement: “Loyola Medicine treats federal agencies like 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. Visitation is restricted for any patient in custody and is at the discretion of the law enforcement agency. Hospital staff have been in contact with the family to update them on the patient’s condition.”
Law enforcement does not need a warrant to be present in the building when someone is already in their custody, a hospital official on site Sunday told advocates.
According to Dora Suane, her brother left home on his bicycle in the morning to get some food when agents picked him up near 17th Avenue and Main Street.
“They hit him on the face and head, they were almost choking him,” Dora Suane said. Witnesses told her that Aguayo Rodriguez was taken to the hospital after complaining of chest pain.
Videos from the scene at 17th and Main shared to a neighborhood Facebook page show vehicles and an ambulance driving away as emergency sirens wail.
Brian Orozco, an attorney at Gregory E. Kulis and Associates, was retained by the family Sunday night to represent them. He told the Tribune he had formally submitted a request to DHS to meet with his client. On Monday, he said he did not know where Aguayo Rodriguez is being held.
“Based on the video that we have, he was bleeding on his forehead,” Orozco said.
Originally from Zacatecas, Mexico, Aguayo Rodriguez has been in the country since the 1980s. He has a construction job and is the father of two children, ages 5 and 7.
“Él es bien trabajador,” Dora Suane said. “He is a hard worker.”
On Monday morning, a handful of people rallied outside the hospital in support of Aguayo Rodriguez. A man in a neon-green vest yelled “Todos somos Ricardo” into a megaphone, “We are all Ricardo.”
“They’re not letting us go see him and they keep having security guards around us,” said Stephanie Suane. “And we’re not doing nothing, just sitting there hoping to get updates from him but they don’t tell us anything.”
A local rapid response team confirmed federal immigration enforcement activity across the village of Melrose Park that resulted in at least three arrests Sunday, including that of Aguayo Rodriguez.
The office of state Rep. Norma Hernandez, whose district includes Melrose Park, also confirmed sightings along the village’s Lake Street, as well as the three arrests and the hospitalization. Hernandez said agents had been present in nearby Northlake and Addison.
“In light of this incident and other recent ICE activity in the district, we urge all residents to exercise extreme caution while walking, driving, or commuting through these areas. It is crucial to stay aware of your surroundings and to understand your rights,” a post shared by Hernandez’s office read.
The west suburbs have been hit hard as part of President Donald Trump’s Operation Midway Blitz in the Chicago area. Two months ago, a man, Silverio Villegas González, was shot and killed by an ICE agent during a traffic stop in Franklin Park. And strong-arm tactics have become the norm among federal immigration agents in the city and its suburbs.
Community leaders have planned a training for rapid response volunteers at the Maywood Public Library on Tuesday, organized by the PASO West Suburban Action Project, Rep. Hernandez and House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch.
Chicago Tribune’s Stacey Wescott contributed.
