Federal prosecutors moved to dismiss charges on Thursday against two motorists who were accused of using their cars to “assault, impede and interfere with the work of federal agents” during an immigration enforcement operation in the Chicago area.
The motion from prosecutors did not provide a reason for dismissing the indictment against the motorists, Marimar Martinez, 30, and Anthony Ian Santos Ruiz, 21. A federal agent shot and wounded Ms. Martinez during the incident in October, asserting that she had driven her car directly at the agent before the shots were fired. Ms. Martinez was treated at a local hospital.
The incident involving Ms. Martinez and Mr. Ruiz was among those underpinning an argument by the Trump administration, made to the Supreme Court in an emergency application, on why President Trump had the authority to deploy the National Guard in Chicago.
Administration officials have said that immigration agents attempting to enforce federal law required protection from National Guard troops because local police were not sufficiently protecting the agents.
Immigration arrests have quieted in Chicago in recent days, after more than two months of Operation Midway Blitz, a crackdown on illegal immigration that swept up citizens and legal residents. Agents used tear gas and pepper balls in residential neighborhoods during the course of arrests, infuriating Chicagoans and drawing a rebuke from a federal judge.
Last week, U.S. officials said the Pentagon was withdrawing hundreds of Texas National Guard troops who were stationed in the Chicago area but were never deployed on the streets because of legal challenges.
The shooting unfolded on Oct. 4 just outside Chicago in Oak Lawn, Ill. According to the criminal complaint, three Border Patrol agents who were conducting an operation were followed by Ms. Martinez and Mr. Ruiz, who pursued the agents’ cars, running red lights and stop signs, and eventually crossed the city line into Chicago’s Southwest Side. The complaint said that Ms. Martinez was shouting “la migra,” the Spanish term for immigration authorities, a common practice in Chicago by people attempting to warn bystanders that federal agents are in the area.
During the chase, Ms. Martinez and Mr. Ruiz then drove into one of the federal agents’ cars, the complaint said.
But that version of events differed significantly from what witnesses and lawyers for the accused said in the aftermath.
Ms. Martinez’s lawyer, Christopher Parente, said in court that it was federal agents who struck Ms. Martinez with a vehicle. Mr. Parente did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a request for comment.
Mattathias Schwartz contributed reporting.
Julie Bosman is the Chicago bureau chief for The Times, writing and reporting stories from around the Midwest.
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