Chicago immigration agents accused of tear-gassing peaceful protestors

U.S. Customs and Border Patrol Commander (CBP) Gregory Bovino, the public face of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement operation in Chicago known as “Operation Midway Blitz,” has been ordered to appear in federal court on Tuesday in response to allegations that he and his officers have knowingly violated a court order by using aggressive, nonlethal tactics on peaceful protesters without warning in the city. 

The temporary restraining order (TRO) in question, issued by United States District Court Sara L. Ellis on October 6, limited the use of nonlethal weapons and other crowd control tactics used by federal agents against protestors and press during “Operation Midway Blitz,” the ongoing immigration enforcement operation in Chicago. One week later, she expanded her TRO to require agents to wear active body cameras during operations so that officers could be held accountable for any constitutional rights violations. 

Bovino, who also headed up the Los Angeles immigration campaign over the summer, was initially ordered by Ellis to sit for a closed-door deposition to answer questions regarding how federal officers under his command were conducting immigration enforcement operations and if those tactics violated constitutionally protected rights. But following two days of tear gas deployment and allegations that Bovino himself was caught on video violating the TRO, Ellis changed course, ordering the Trump administration “to produce Defendant Gregory Bovino, in person, for [Tuesday’s] hearing.” 

According to the complaint filed on Sunday by the Chicago Headline Club, the local chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, Bovino “was apparently the first federal agent to throw a tear gas cannister [sic] into the crowd” in an incident on October 23 in the Little Village neighborhood near Chicago. Bovino did not provide any audible warnings before throwing the canister at the nonviolent crowd. Shortly after, Bovino threw a second canister, and other federal agents began indiscriminately shooting tear gas into the crowd without warning and shoving protestors. 

Following news of the incident, the Department of Homeland Security posted on X a statement justifying the encounter, claiming protestors were “advancing toward agents and began throwing rocks and other objects at agents, including one that struck…Bovino in the head.” In response, the statement continued, “agents properly used their training,” and “the use of chemical munitions was conducted in full accordance with CBP policy.” 

Bovino similarly justified his actions in an interview with Noticias Telemundo. The complaint quotes a translation of Bovino during the interview, who appears uninjured, responding to a reporter’s questions, saying, “Did Judge Ellis get hit in the head by a rock like I did this morning? Maybe she needs to see what that’s like before she gives an order like that.” Bovino continued, saying he takes his orders from the executive branch, including President Donald Trump and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. 

Other federal agents are also accused of violating Ellis’ TRO on October 23 by failing to wear obviously visible identification, needlessly shooting a protestor in the neck with a pepper ball from five feet away, and pointing a real gun at a combat veteran—who was lawfully standing on the side of the road—and saying “bang, bang…you’re dead, liberal.” The plaintiffs have requested any body camera footage from the incidents described. 

It’s too early to tell if Bovino and his agents will face any consequences for these alleged violations, but in a hearing earlier this month, Ellis said she was “profoundly concerned” about the ongoing clashes between protestors and federal agents in the Chicago area. Ellis may be right to be uneasy with the growing tension between civilians and federal immigration officers, but what’s perhaps more concerning is the apparent disdain these immigration officials have for the federal court and the Constitution.