A federal judge in Illinois has ordered U.S. Border Patrol chief Gregory Bovino to appear in court daily for the next week to provide a report on his department’s operations in Chicago.
Bovino, an influential section chief with CBP, is responsible for leading the federal government’s deployment of immigration officials to the Windy City over the last month at the request of President Donald Trump. The operation, dubbed “Midway Blitz,” has faced intense scrutiny in recent weeks, as officials were reported to be deploying tear gas against protesters and journalists, despite a restraining order earlier this month barring the use of tear gas to suppress citizens.
“I’m not afraid to enforce this TRO (temporary restraining order,)” U.S. District Court Judge Sara Ellis told Department of Homeland Security lawyers about 90 minutes after Bovino took the stand. “I have serious questions about whether it’s being followed so under my inherent power to enforce the TRO, this is what I’m requiring,” Ellis continued.
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Ellis spent the first part of Bovino’s Tuesday court appearance reading each provision of the TRO verbatim, which includes restraints on the use of force against journalists and demonstrators, restrictions on the use of riot control measures like tear gas, requirements for the agents to wear identifying information on their uniforms and mandates that agents be equipped with body cameras.
“I thought it would really be a good idea to go through it to make sure we are on the same page,” Ellis said.
Bovino listened to Ellis reading, occasionally nodding and often saying, “Yes, ma’am.”
The Department of Homeland Security reported that 3,000 “illegal aliens, including rapists, murderers, and gang members” have been arrested in its Chicago operations as of this week, according to USA Today.
Ellis questioned Bovino on the deployment of tear gas in the Old Irving Park neighborhood over the weekend, where videos circulated of families dressed in Halloween costumes and fleeing from tear gas.
“Those kids were tear gassed on their way to celebrate Halloween in their local school parking lot,” Ellis said, noting the fear the kids must have felt.
Christopher Lynch, a government attorney, responded that tear gas was used to restore safety “in highly volatile situations.”
Ellis also said journalists “need to be left alone to do their jobs.”
Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee earlier this month compiled a “damning” list of incidents involving federal immigration officials who they said overstepped their authority in Chicago.
“In just the past month,” the letter reads. “DHS personnel have shot two people (one fatally)...handcuffed an Alderperson at a hospital…indiscriminately deployed tear gas in front of a public school and against civilians and local law enforcement, placed a handcuffed man on the ground in a chokehold, shot a pastor in the head with a pepper ball, thrown flashbang grenades at civilians, and raided an entire apartment complex and reportedly zip-tied U.S. citizens, children, and military veterans for hours.”
In addition to daily reports in court, Ellis also ordered Bovino to turn over all agents’ use of force reports from Sept. 2 through Oct. 25, as well as the body camera footage corresponding to those reports by Friday.
Bovino is expected to appear before Ellis every day this week, until a Nov. 5 preliminary hearing is scheduled on the case.
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