Chicago residents say kids tear-gassed due to nearby immigration enforcement

Residents of Chicago suburbs underscored in interviews that immigration enforcement agents have been the catalyst for chaos and clashes in their neighborhoods.

CHICAGO — The first thing that hit Sarah Parise was an unfamiliar, pungent smell.

She looked down at her ginger-haired 2-year-old, Leia, who was taking a turn pushing her own stroller near a grassy field where they had stopped to play on a Saturday morning walk.

Then, it kicked in.

“All of a sudden, my eyes were just burning and I couldn’t breathe,” Parise said.

Leia began to scream: “Mommy! Mommy! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!”