Democrats spent months attacking President Trump's border crackdown as too aggressive.
They accused ICE agents of terrorizing communities and demanded investigations.
But Senator Tammy Duckworth got caught red-handed after her staffer pulled this stunning move.
Democrat Senator's Office Accused of Criminal Fraud Scheme
The Department of Homeland Security dropped a bombshell on Illinois Democrat Senator Tammy Duckworth last week.
ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons sent Duckworth a letter accusing her staffer Edward York of impersonating a lawyer to spring a four-time deported illegal alien from federal custody.
York walked into an ICE facility in St. Louis on October 29 and claimed he was the attorney for Jose Ismeal Ayuzo Sandoval.¹
That was a lie.
ICE officials couldn't verify York was an attorney because he isn't one.
York worked as a "Constituent Outreach Coordinator" for Duckworth's Senate office.
But he told federal officers he was Sandoval's lawyer and demanded to see his "client."
The 40-year-old Mexican national Sandoval has been deported from the United States four times and was convicted of DUI.²
York didn't just lie to ICE agents.
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He falsified an official Department of Homeland Security form to make his scheme work.
Staffer Got Illegal Alien to Sign Papers Under False Pretenses
Once inside the facility, York persuaded Sandoval to sign a G-28 form.
That's the official document that authorizes an attorney to represent a client in immigration matters.
The form allows lawyers to receive federal notices, file documents, and communicate directly with government agencies on behalf of detained illegal aliens.
York successfully obtained Sandoval's signature during their meeting.
But here's where things get even more suspicious.
Four days later, a law office in Collinsville, Illinois called Suarez Law Office filed a G-28 form electronically that didn't have Sandoval's signature.
York had already obtained a signed form in person, but this electronic filing was unsigned.³
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"It appears as if Mr. York may have collaborated with the firm to cover his misrepresentation," Lyons wrote in his letter to Duckworth.
ICE officials became even more suspicious after discovering a Facebook post from the Montgomery County Illinois Democrats.
The post bragged that a staffer had gone to an ICE field office "with a packet of documents including a release order" with "the intention of misrepresenting himself to law enforcement."⁴
The local Democrats were apparently celebrating York's fraud as some kind of resistance victory.
Democrats' Obstruction of Immigration Enforcement Escalates
This isn't an isolated incident of Democrats trying to sabotage federal immigration enforcement.
The White House documented months of escalating attacks on ICE agents by Democrat politicians and their supporters.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal called ICE agents "deranged" and said it's "inspiring" to obstruct immigration enforcement.⁵
Rep. LaMonica McIver was charged with forcibly impeding federal officers after she incited supporters to "shut down the city" because "we are at war."
Gov. Tim Walz smeared ICE agents as the "modern-day Gestapo."
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu compared ICE agents to neo-Nazis.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson accused "secret police" of "terrorizing our communities."
https://twitter.com/Hunter_Eagleman/status/1990483348167233821?s=20
More than a dozen New York Democrat officials were arrested in September after storming a federal building and demanding access to an ICE holding facility.
Democrats in Congress launched investigations demanding to know why ICE agents are detaining American citizens during immigration raids.
They accused federal law enforcement of racial profiling and wrongful arrests.
But ICE documented arrest after arrest of criminal illegal aliens convicted of horrific crimes like child sexual assault, vehicular homicide, machete attacks, and violent carjackings.
Duckworth Forced to Fire Staffer After Getting Caught
ICE Acting Director Lyons demanded answers from Duckworth's office by November 17.
He wanted to know if York knowingly falsified government documents and whether he acted with the knowledge of other Duckworth staff members.
"I implore all members of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, as well as their staff, to stop the political games that put law enforcement and detainees at risk," Lyons wrote.⁶
Duckworth had no choice but to respond.
On Monday, she sent a letter to Lyons confirming that she fired York effective November 17.
"Upon reviewing the matter, I can confirm that neither I nor my leadership team was aware of, authorized or directed what your letter describes as the employee's conduct," Duckworth wrote.⁷
"My office has terminated the employment of said employee, effective November 17, 2025," she added.
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Duckworth claims she didn't know about York's scheme.
But the Montgomery County Democrats' Facebook post suggests this wasn't some rogue staffer acting alone.
The post described York's mission to an ICE facility as if it was a planned operation.
And York apparently worked with an Illinois law office to file the unsigned G-28 form electronically days after obtaining Sandoval's signature in person.
This looks like a coordinated effort to obstruct federal immigration enforcement using fraud and deception.
York isn't just facing termination from his Senate job.
Pretending to be an attorney and falsifying federal documents are serious state and federal crimes.
Democrats spent the entire Trump administration attacking ICE agents as brutal thugs terrorizing innocent families.
Now we find out Duckworth's office was running a criminal scheme to help a four-time deported drunk driver escape federal custody by committing fraud.
The real question is how many other Democrat offices are pulling similar stunts.
¹ Todd Lyons, Letter to Sen. Tammy Duckworth, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, November 12, 2025.
² Tricia McLaughlin, Statement to Newsweek, Department of Homeland Security, November 13, 2025.
³ Todd Lyons, Letter to Sen. Tammy Duckworth, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, November 12, 2025.
⁴ Ibid.
⁵ "Democrats Inspire Vicious, Escalating Attacks on ICE," The White House, July 9, 2025.
⁶ Todd Lyons, Letter to Sen. Tammy Duckworth, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, November 12, 2025.
⁷ Tammy Duckworth, Letter to Todd Lyons, U.S. Senate, November 17, 2025.
