A disturbing scene unfolded outside Waukegan City Hall Monday afternoon when federal agents with U.S. Border Patrol arrested a young woman — a 23-year-old U.S.-born citizen — in broad daylight as she sat in her car, a large Mexican flag draped over the hood. The arrest, captured on video by bystanders, quickly sparked outrage, prompting the mayor himself to step in.
Around 1 p.m., Border Patrol agents conducted a traffic stop on West Street, just north of Washington Street, pulling over Dariana Fajardo as she sat behind the wheel of her Kia SUV. Moments later, video footage shows agents yelling at Fajardo to exit the vehicle before forcibly removing her and placing her under arrest.
From inside the vehicle, Fajardo could be heard shouting, “They’re illegally arresting me. I did nothing wrong.” Bystanders demanded to know what authority the agents were operating under. One Border Patrol agent fired back, “We don’t need a warrant… f–k off.”
The chaos unfolded less than 100 feet from City Hall. As a small crowd gathered, Waukegan Mayor Sam Cunningham arrived at the scene just two minutes after the arrest. In video clips circulating online, Cunningham tried to de-escalate the situation, offering to take care of Fajardo’s car and speaking with visibly agitated agents.
“Sir, we need you to back up. This is an active law enforcement scene,” one agent told him. Cunningham calmly responded, “I understand that, sir. I am going to do that, sir.” A second agent interjected, “He’s the mayor.”
Also on the scene was Lake County Board Member Esiah Campos, who didn’t hold back.
“They’re destroying the city, mayor,” Campos said. “They are targeting us for being Hispanic. I’m seeing it with my own eyes!”
Fajardo, a student at the College of Lake County, said she was confused and terrified as agents swarmed her car. She insisted she had not followed or boxed in any law enforcement vehicle — contradicting the official statement from the Department of Homeland Security.
“I was driving around and told to leave,” she said. “I was boxed in. Two men were standing in front of me. I could not move. I told them I couldn’t leave, and they pulled me out of my car.”
Federal officials paint a different picture. Tricia McLaughlin, Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs at DHS, claimed in an email that Fajardo “boxed in law enforcement” and referenced “a growing and dangerous trend of violence and obstruction.”
Fajardo insists that wasn’t the case. “There were several vehicles blocking the entrance to the (Waukegan) Police Department, but I was not one of them. They boxed me in. I was pulled over to the side.”
McLaughlin also said Fajardo had a firearm in the vehicle. Fajardo confirmed that, saying the gun was legally owned and properly stored, and that she informed agents of its presence. She was not charged with any weapons violations.
What she was charged with: impeding a federal investigation. Agents claimed she failed to move her vehicle when ordered. But Fajardo says she physically couldn’t — not without running over the men standing in front of her.
As she was shoved into a black Ford Expedition, she called out to bystanders to contact her father. Later, she told reporters that during her transport, agents seemed disappointed.
“They were talking in the car and asked how many were arrested,” she recalled. “They were disappointed when one of them said, ‘One.’ When I got out of the car, they were asked again how many. She said, ‘Only one and she’s a citizen.’ The man there was unhappy, too.”
Fajardo was taken to a federal facility in Lombard, where she was held for over four hours before being released.
Earlier in the day, Mayor Cunningham had been at the College of Lake County’s Lakeshore Campus, where federal agents reportedly apprehended another individual. Details about that incident remain unclear, but Cunningham said his goal in both situations was to maintain calm.
“My goal was discretion,” he said. “I want to keep people calm and make sure our residents are safe.”
The image of a young Latina woman being hauled away by federal agents — in front of City Hall, while the mayor and a county board member looked on — struck a nerve in Waukegan. It left many asking what exactly triggered the stop, and why the Mexican flag on her car may have drawn unwanted attention.
And for Dariana Fajardo, a U.S. citizen, it was a reminder that sometimes, your rights don’t feel so protected when your background is on display.
Watch the clip below
ICE Suburbs 10/6/25 pic.twitter.com/IYXMogfon3
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