This morning an ECC student was taken into custody by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement outside the Building K parking lot, according to ECC communication. 

“This appears to have been an isolated incident,” according to an email sent to ECC students, faculty, and staff.. 

Building K is separate from most buildings on campus. It is the Adult Basic Education Center and has English as a Second Language and high school equivalency classes. 

According to ECC’s website, adult education students comprised a little over 20% of the college’s enrollment last year. 

“It’s pretty ironic and sad,” said Aiden Cruz, a first-year student, when asked about I.C.E. activity on campus. 

Some students noted that yesterday ECC held a LatinX Student Welcome event between Buildings A and B. 

“A little suspicious, in a sense, how there was the celebration yesterday and then that happened today,” said Ayan Soni, an ECC student. 

On the other hand, third-year student Nate Galvez, believed that this incident was “more of a coincidence.”

He said, “I feel like it’s very extreme, very unsurprising, honestly unsurprising.”

According to ECC reports, ECC has been a Hispanic Serving Institution since 2009. A little over half of its student population is Hispanic/Latinx. 

“What we witnessed at Elgin Community College today — where a student was followed on campus and taken by masked federal agents as they were entering a building for class — is disturbing,” said State Senator Cristina Castro, who represents Elgin, in a press release. 

“Every student deserves safety and dignity on campus. I’m proud of ECC’s leadership, quick response, and proactive communication with trustees, myself, and the student body as this incident unfolded,” she said. “I stand with my community in condemning this shameful tactic, which is designed to instill fear in the lives of community college students as they go about their day on campus.”

I.C.E. has not just been at ECC. They were also in an Elgin neighborhood on Tuesday morning. 

According to CBS News, “two U.S. citizens were among seven people detained in an early morning ICE raid in Elgin, Illinois, Tuesday.” However, these two individuals “were later released.”

ECC Communications was unable to be reached by the time of publication.