A federal judge on Tuesday ordered a senior U.S. Border Patrol official to meet with her daily to report on enforcement activity, following weeks of clashes between immigration agents and the public in the Chicago area.
By Dan Gooding and Gabe Whisnant
U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis directed Greg Bovino, chief of the Border Patrol’s El Centro sector in California, to provide daily updates and turn over all use-of-force reports tied to Operation Midway Blitz, an ongoing immigration enforcement campaign that began September 2. The operation has led to more than 1,800 arrests and prompted complaints of excessive force.
Newsweek reached out to DHS for comment via email Tuesday afternoon.
Why It Matters
While U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is the leading agency on immigration enforcement, the Border Patrol is reportedly set to take a more central role in the coming months as the Trump administration looks to rapidly increase arrests and deportations of illegal immigrants. In Chicago, that drive has led to repeated clashes between federal agents and locals, including the arrests of at least six U.S. citizens.
What To Know
Ellis expressed alarm over videos and photographs showing agents confronting protesters and deploying tear gas at a weekend Halloween event. "Children at a Halloween parade do not pose an immediate threat to a law enforcement officer," Ellis said in court. "And you cannot use riot control weapons against them."
Bovino, wearing a green Border Patrol uniform, took the witness stand in federal court, representing the Trump administration’s latest effort to expand immigration enforcement beyond the U.S. border.
The hearing is part of an ongoing lawsuit filed by news organizations and protesters who accuse agents of using excessive force during demonstrations against immigration sweeps. Ellis said her order is meant to ensure transparency and accountability as the operation continues.
The judge has ordered agents to wear badges, and she’s banned them from using certain riot control techniques against peaceful protesters and journalists. She subsequently required body cameras after the use of tear gas during the government’s Operation Midway Blitz raised concerns that agents were not following her initial order.
Ellis told Bovino, "You could probably get one easily," referring to a camera. She set a Friday deadline for him to get a device and complete training.
The judge chastised Bovino over weekend reports that Border Patrol agents disrupted a children’s Halloween parade with tear gas on the city’s Northwest Side. Neighbors had gathered in the street as someone was arrested.
As the hearing opened, Ellis read aloud the oaths that she and Bovino took when they began their jobs.
"My role is not to tell you that you can or cannot enforce validly passed laws by Congress. … My role is simply to see that in the enforcement of those laws, the agents are acting in a manner that is consistent with the Constitution," Ellis said.
She wants to hear about agents’ use of force in Little Village, Chicago’s Mexican enclave. During an enforcement operation there and in an adjacent suburb, Cicero, at least eight people, including four U.S. citizens, were detained before protesters gathered at the scene, officials said.
Attorneys representing a coalition of news outlets and protesters claim Bovino violated the order in Little Village, and they filed an image of him allegedly "throwing tear gas into a crowd without justification."
Over the weekend, masked agents and unmarked SUVs were seen in Chicago’s wealthier, predominantly white North Side neighborhoods, where video showed chemical agents deployed on a residential street. Agents have been recorded using tear gas several times over the past few weeks.
What People Are Saying
Judge Ellis, speaking to Bovino about the use of tear gas, in court Tuesday: "Those kids were tear gassed on their way to celebrate Halloween in their local school parking lot. I can only imagine how terrified they were. These kids, their sense of safety was shattered on Saturday, and it's going to take a long time for that to come back."
A former ICE official, speaking to Newsweek earlier on condition of anonymity: "Bovino wants to build a brand, a name for himself, like I'm a f****** tough guy. Where were these f****** tough guys under the Biden administration speaking out and demanding reform and change? That's the way I judge a person."
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in an October 1 press release: "The Trump Administration will not allow violent criminals or repeat offenders to terrorize our neighborhoods or victimize our children and innocent Americans. We will not allow sanctuary politicians or violent rioters to stop us from enforcing the law and arresting pedophiles, murderers, gang members, rapists, and domestic abusers from American communities."
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker wrote on X on October 16: "I’ve made the message to Trump clear: We do not want you, Tom Homan, or Kristi Noem in Illinois. You do nothing but cause chaos and division."
What's Next
Ellis ordered Bovino meet with her daily at 6 p.m. CT, to find out how the day went. She also ordered he provide a chart of all arrested under Operation Midway Blitz who has not been arrested for anything immigration related by Friday.