Border Patrol agents allegedly entered a man’s Lakeview home climbing a fence without warrant. He now sues federal government

A Lakeview homeowner is taking the federal government to court after an immigration enforcement operation allegedly resulted in significant property damage and a warrantless entry into his home, ABC7 Chicago reported. Leo Feler filed the lawsuit following an incident on October 24, where Border Patrol agents allegedly climbed a five-foot wrought-iron fence to access his private property.

The agents reportedly entered the home while only construction workers were present, and the homeowner was actively monitoring the situation through his Ring cameras. Feler watched the events unfold in real time as he tried to stop the intrusion.

The footage captures both a tenant and Feler himself repeatedly demanding that the agents leave the premises. One resident is heard stating, “You do not have a warrant. You do not have a warrant to be on our property.” Another resident added, “You have no permission to be on my property. ICE, you are not allowed on my property. Get off my property. This is private property.”

Despite these clear demands, the agents reportedly proceeded to move throughout the house

Feler claims this led to tens of thousands of dollars in property damage. The legal team representing Feler, which includes attorneys from the Institute for Justice, argues that the agents clearly violated the Constitution. Attorney Dylan Moore stated, “Hiring construction workers to renovate your house is not an invitation to raid it,” and added, “Make no mistake, this warrantless raid was a search and it was unconstitutional.”

The recordings of the bodycams capture agents discussing the use of gas during the operation. One agent is heard on the footage saying, “Throw it for fun. Can I pop a gas? Gas coming out, gas coming out.” The man who was eventually taken into custody during the raid did not have a criminal record and was released just three weeks later.

Feler attempted to pursue a police report after the incident, but he claims he was blocked from doing so. He noted, “I got a call from the central district saying they weren’t going to investigate. That they were unable, they had been told not to investigate.”

Senior attorney Patrick Jaicomo emphasized that this case is about more than just the money. He stated, “We cannot rely on other governments, certainly not the federal government itself to be responsible to hold itself accountable. We have to hold the government accountable.”

The federal government now has 21 days to respond to the complaint or move to dismiss it. Neither the Department of Justice nor the Department of Homeland Security provided a response to requests for comment.

A spokesperson for U.S. Customs and Border Protection did issue a statement regarding their general operations. The spokesperson said, “Enforcing immigration law is the mission of the Department of Homeland Security and is essential to protecting America’s national security, public safety, and economic strength.” The statement further claimed, “Operations are conducted within the authority granted to immigration officers under Title 8. Immigration officers act in accordance with the U.S. Constitution and other applicable laws when investigating immigration status and making arrests.”

Feler remains firm in his position that the entire operation was unnecessary. He said, “There was no reason for this raid to be happening. There was nothing illegal that had been happening on my property. It was just workers doing construction.”