Federal agents detain grandparents in Franklin Park, family says

FRANKLIN PARK, Ill. (WLS) -- It's been about a week since Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino and his team left the Chicago area.

The ICE facility in Broadview was quiet Thursday with little to no presence of federal agents, but immigration operations still continue in the area as two people were detained by U.S. Department of Homeland Security federal agents in Franklin Park.

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A family in Franklin Park spent the afternoon fixing the front door which federal agents knocked down Thursday morning while executing an arrest warrant for a man in his 60s. The family says that man and his wife were both taken into DHS custody for allegedly living in the country illegally.

The granddaughter of those two people was in the house as federal agents rushed in.

"It was very scary because even with the speaker they kept repeating his name that they had a warrant for his arrest it was really terrifying," she said.

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The woman says she was raised by her grandparents and often helped them with their jobs in the area.

The family says the man who was detained had already been deported about six years ago and then returned to the country, but his wife has been in the country for decades and allegedly has a workers permit in the U.S. They say they understand the realities of this immigration process, but are now figuring out how to move forward.

"It's gonna be hard because now we need to take care of them and his job and the house and everything so it's gonna be hard," said Jesus Cano, whose brother-in-law was detained.

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It was one of the first DHS arrests seen in the Chicago area since Bovino and his team left the state last week. Their next operation is now unfolding in Charlotte, North Carolina.

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem has also continued to say that immigration operations will go on in Chicago despite the change of agencies on the ground.

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Meanwhile, a 20-year-old woman says her grandparents aren't criminals, and she's grappling with the reality of life without them.

"It's really sad I want them to come back," she said. "At least my grandma I'm all alone now with the cats."

ABC7 has reached out to DHS for details on Thursday's arrest in Franklin Park, but have not yet heard back.