Under federal law, registered foreign nationals must carry proof of registration with them at all times. But prior to a second Trump administration, it was rarely enforced.
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Maria Greeley, 44, had just finished working a double shift at the Beach Bar on Ohio Street earlier this month when she said she was surrounded by three federal agents who grabbed her, forced her hands behind her back and zip-tied her.
Headphones in, Greeley had been focused on getting home to her two dogs for a walk. Instead, she said she was detained by masked agents who did not answer when she asked for names. They questioned her for an hour, she said.
Greeley, who was born at Illinois Masonic hospital and is adopted, carries a copy of her passport just in case she runs into federal agents.
“I am Latina and I am a service worker,” Greeley said. “I fit the description of what they’re looking for now.”
During the encounter, Greeley said they told her she “doesn’t look like” a Greeley.
“They said this isn’t real, they kept telling me I’m lying, I’m a liar,” Greeley recalled. “I told them to look in the rest of my wallet, I have my credit cards, my insurance.”
When the agents let her go, Greeley got home and screamed when she saw the shadow on her door. Days after the incident, Greeley said, it’s still “terrifying.”
“I just have to stay strong and not think about it, I’m still here, luckily,” she said, tearing up. “All those other people are getting taken.”