Fox Business’ Maria Bartiromo rushed to the defense of an immigration agent Tuesday who was seen on film repeatedly punching a man who was pinned to the ground by the officer while handcuffed.
A raid conducted Friday by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in Evanston, Illinois descended into chaos after a Homeland Security spokesperson claimed a “hostile crowd” had gathered around agents, leading to several arrests. Evanston’s mayor, Daniel Biss, has since pledged to open investigations into federal authorities given the violent nature of some of the arrests, including the attack on the individual while he was in handcuffs.
According to DHS, that individual — who has not been identified — was “aggressively” tailing an ICE vehicle before colliding with it. Biss, however, refuted the DHS’ account of the incident, calling the agency “a bunch of liars.”
Bartiromo, speaking with President Donald Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan Tuesday, defended the agent’s actions against the detained individual, and characterized the attack not as punches, but rather, “defensive strikes.”
“In Evanston, an immigration agent caught on camera [was] delivering defensive strikes against a suspect who allegedly tailgated a border patrol vehicle [and] put his hand on an agent!” Bartiromo said.
Homan, who is under renewed scrutiny for allegedly accepting a $50,000 cash bribe as part of an FBI sting, blamed the incident on “hateful rhetoric" targeting ICE agents, and warned that were the rhetoric to continue, “there will be more bloodshed.”
Homan also admitted that undocumented immigrants without criminal histories were an open target for ICE agents, despite Trump’s pledge to only target the “worst of the worst” for deportation.
“Others are in the country illegally [that] may not have a criminal history, but guess what – they’re coming too! ICE is no longer turning a blind eye to illegal aliens in this country,” Homan told Bartiromo.
Maria Bartiromo defends an immigration agent who was filmed brutalizing someone on camera in Evanston, saying they were "defensive strikes" pic.twitter.com/HySGNny7ho
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 4, 2025