Gregory Bovino, U.S. Border Patrol head honcho who has become the face of “Operation Midway Blitz” in Chicago, is now being forced to provide a federal judge with daily updates after being accused of combative enforcement for using tear gas to disperse an angry mob of protesters who were throwing rocks at him.
Bovino made a court appearance on Tuesday before U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse in downtown Chicago. Ellis grilled the Border Patrol chief about reports she received concerning aggressive immigration enforcement and his treatment of protesters, journalists, and children during the operation.
The hearing is part of a lawsuit filed by local media outlets who allege that immigration officials are violating prior court orders restricting the use of aggressive force. The orders ban agents from deploying tear gas or other “riot control” weapons without first supplying protesters with two warnings. Agents are also prohibited from deploying such tools against individuals who do not pose an immediate threat to their safety.
“They don’t have to like what you’re doing. And that’s OK. That’s what democracy is,” Ellis stated during the hearing, referencing protesters and other individuals opposed to the use of federal agents on city streets for immigration enforcement.
“They can say they don’t like what you’re doing, that they don’t like how you’re enforcing the laws, that they wish you would leave Chicago and take the agents with you. They can say that, and that’s fine. But they can’t get tear-gassed for it,” the judge added. As Bovino was being grilled by the judge, President Donald Trump upped the ante by threatening to send “more than the National Guard” to fight the obscenely high crime rates in Democrat-led cities like Chicago, Politico reported.
President Trump has already sent a number of National Guard troops to the state of Illinois, but as of this writing, they have yet to be deployed on the streets. He also sent troops to Washington and is looking to send some to Portland, Oregon, as well. Judge Ellis, appointed to the bench by former President Barack Obama, slapped a new requirement on Bovino, informing the agent he must report every weekday to her concerning immigration enforcement operations.
“Mr. Bovino’s going to be here every day at 6 to tell me what happened,” she told the Border Patrol official. She also said, “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 any enforcement of those laws is done in a manner that is consistent with your obligations under the law.”
"*" indicates required fields
Ellis then told Bovino that he must “leave journalists alone. If they’re doing their job, they need to be left alone to do their job.” Bovino agreed with the judge, replying, “We’re on the same page.” He then listened carefully on the stand and, at one point, scanned the courtroom, which was packed with reporters and a few curious individuals.
Not surprisingly, outside of the courtroom, a group of protesters held a demonstration, waving signs with typical leftist statements such as “Stop ICE Brutality” and “Judge Sara Ellis is a Boss.” Inside, Ellis took the opportunity to read aloud a few anecdotes from reports claiming that federal agents were using tear gas in the city during Halloween festivities.
“Kids were tear-gassed on their way to celebrate Halloween,” the judge read, referring to an incident alleged to have taken place in the Old Irving Park neighborhood on Chicago’s North Side. “Those kids were dressed up in their Halloween costumes. You can imagine their sense of safety was shattered.”
The judge then spoke to government attorneys, saying, “I do not want to get violation reports from the plaintiffs that show that agents are out and about on Halloween where kids are present and tear gas is being deployed.” Bovino appeared docile, responding to the information being presented with a respectful, “Yes, ma’am.” He only challenged the judge when questioned about the use of tear gas.
“Your Honor, I believe that each situation is dependent on the circumstances. I’d like to know more about what happened,” he responded. Attorneys representing the plaintiffs made a motion to ban the use of tear gas completely; however, Ellis refrained from making a decision on the matter for the time being. “If [federal agents] are using tear gas, they better be able to back it up,” the judge said. “And if they can’t, then they will lose that as something they can use.”
Another concern Ellis mentioned during the hearing was the lack of federal agents identifying themselves. “I instructed all agents under my command to place an identifier conspicuously somewhere on their uniform,” Bovino said. Ellis then suggested that IDs be placed “in a conspicuous location” in two places, to which Bovino agreed.
The judge also demanded Bovino provide the court with use-of-force reports, along with body camera footage that has been compiled since September 2. She also ordered that Bovino himself wear a body camera. “The camera is your friend,” she told the Border Patrol chief.
Bovino admitted to not previously wearing a body camera. “How about by Friday you get one for yourself?” Ellis asked him. He agreed, replying, “We can get that.” As of this writing, no official court order in writing could be found while conducting research for this article.
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video