On Sunday morning, federal immigration agents in Evanston tried to detain a man they believed matched someone wanted in a fugitive investigation. He wasn't the person they were looking for. He is a U.S. citizen who lives in Evanston, and by the time agents realized their mistake, he had been forced to the ground and injured badly enough to need hospital treatment for his head, neck, and mouth.

According to the Evanston Police Department's news release, one of the agents said they left the scene once bystanders began to gather because they "feared they would be attacked." Multiple federal agents were reportedly working the area that morning in separate vehicles, all searching for someone with an address in the Chicago area, more than ten miles away.

This wasn't a rare mix-up — it's what can happen when agents are allowed to physically detain someone before confirming who they actually are, in a neighborhood where families are just walking to brunch or running Sunday errands. Anyone can be mistaken for someone else. The next person swept up in a case of mistaken identity might not walk away with only minor injuries.

Evanston police are investigating, but nothing currently requires federal agents to verify a person's identity through less forceful means before detaining them in this community. That has to change. Evanston's city leaders should press for clear accountability and identity-verification standards for any federal agency operating within city limits.

Sign the petition to demand identity-verification safeguards before ICE detains anyone in Evanston — before another resident is hurt for a mistake that wasn't his.