Chicago TV producer hires attorney to 'pursue all legal avenues' after ICE detention

Robert Channick, Chicago Tribune on Oct 14, 2025

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

CHICAGO — Debbie Brockman, a WGN-TV producer violently arrested by ICE on Friday morning in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of Chicago, has retained an attorney and intends to “pursue all legal avenues available” to hold federal authorities accountable, according to a news release Tuesday.

Brockman and her legal team “adamantly deny” allegations that she assaulted federal officers during an immigration enforcement action, according to the release. They assert she was simply walking to the bus stop on her way to work when she was attacked by Border Patrol agents.

“This incident should be alarming and horrifying to every single person in this country,” Brad Thomson, a Chicago attorney representing Brockman, said in the release. “If armed, masked, federal agents are snatching U.S. citizens off the street as they walk to work and throwing them in unmarked vehicles, you can only imagine what these agents must be willing to do to our immigrant neighbors and people who dare to speak out against them.”

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security declined to comment further Tuesday, referring back to a statement issued Friday by Tricia McLaughlin, the agency’s assistant secretary, which alleged that Brockman “threw objects at Border Patrol’s car” and was arrested during an immigration enforcement action.

The incident, which took place during a Friday morning rush hour at the busy intersection of Foster and Lincoln avenues, gained national attention for the aggressive detention of Brockman, who has worked as a creative services producer for WGN since 2011.

In the aftermath of the detention of an unidentified Latino male, Josh Thomas came down from his nearby apartment to join a growing crowd of onlookers, breaking out his phone to take a video of the scene.

As he arrived, Thomas saw Brockman taken face down on Foster and handcuffed while stopped cars honked and onlookers shouted epithets at the two federal agents detaining her. She identified herself as working at WGN and asked Thomas to “let them know” before she was hauled off by the agents in an unmarked silver van with New Jersey plates.

On Tuesday, Brockman’s attorney said she stated that she worked for WGN “hoping someone would notify her employer” that she would not be arriving at work that day.

Brockman, a U.S. citizen, was detained for seven hours by federal immigration authorities before being released without charges, according to her attorney.

WGN-TV, which is owned by Dallas-based Nexstar Media, issued a statement Friday evening acknowledging that a creative services employee of the station had been detained by ICE and released, with no charges filed against her.

When asked about Brockman retaining an attorney, the station released a new statement Tuesday about the incident, adding clarification about her role at WGN-TV.

“This employee is not a journalist and was not working at the time,” the station said. “We continue gathering facts related to this situation. Out of respect for her privacy, we have no further comment.”

The video of her arrest, which was shared widely on social and legacy media platforms, showed Brockman with her pants pulled down, her glasses askew and her face in obvious distress during the rough detainment by federal agents.

Her attorney said Brockman “feared for her life” throughout the experience.

“Ms. Brockman was taken to the ground, battered, handcuffed and her pants were pulled down exposing her bare buttocks,” Thomson said in the news release. “No one should be treated like that in this city, in this country, or anywhere else in the world.”

Immigration and Customs Enforcement launched Operation Midway Blitz on Sept. 8 with the stated mission of targeting “criminal illegal aliens” in Chicago and Illinois. As of Oct. 1, DHS reported that ICE and Border Patrol agents had arrested more than 800 people during the initiative, which has included a number of high-profile raids.

Last week, ICE was dealt at least a temporary setback when a Chicago federal judge blocked deployment of National Guard troops in Illinois to support the immigration enforcement efforts under the direction of the administration of President Donald Trump.

_____