FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wednesday, January 7, 2026

Media Contact

Ivonne Rodriguez, ivonne@anabelforcongress.com

Chicago —Following the horrifying news that an ICE agent shot and murdered a woman in Minneapolis today, and more than 2,600 federal agents were deployed to Minnesota and Chicago in the last 24 hours, Anabel Mendoza, a lifelong Chicagoan, immigrant rights organizer, and the youngest candidate running for Illinois’ 7th Congressional District, released the following statement: 

“My heart is with this woman, her family, and a community that continues to be brutalized by ICE and CBP. What happened in Minneapolis was not an accident. It is the inevitable outcome of a federal administration that continues to operate with total impunity. When armed agents are unleashed to hunt immigrant communities, from Chicago to Minneapolis, violence and death are inevitable.

“I’ve spent nearly a decade on the front lines defending immigrant families. I know this playbook. Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino comes and goes from our city at will. It is deliberate intimidation. Chicago and Minneapolis are being turned into laboratories for militarized enforcement, where federal agents operate above the law. Families are forced to live in fear while civilians are brutalized and killed without consequence. This is state violence.”

“These horrific tragedies will not end until abusive agents are held accountable and these enforcement tactics are dismantled. If elected to Congress, I will use every lever of power to protect our communities against this terror, defund these agencies, and redirect federal dollars towards the resources that keep us all safe: housing, health care, and a pathway to citizenship.”