U.S. District Judge Sarah L. Ellis ordered U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commander Gregory Bovino to appear in court and testify after video showed him clearly violating the order.
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CHICAGO – A judge on Oct. 28 ordered the head of President Donald Trump’s Operation Midway Blitz to answer questions about whether federal officials were defying the president’s orders to limit the use of chemical weapons against protesters.
U.S. District Judge Sarah L. Ellis ordered U.S. Customs and Border Protection Gen. Gregory Bovino to appear in federal court in downtown Chicago after a video taken by anti-immigrant protesters and linked in a court filing showed tear gas being used on protesters. The video was released amid a federal lawsuit in the Northern District of Illinois that alleges immigration officials unnecessarily used chemical weapons against journalists, protesters and clergy.
Lawyers representing the civilian group filed a notice on Oct. 26 saying the video shows Bovino violated a temporary restraining order. Mr. Ellis, the judge in charge of the case, issued an order limiting the use of chemical weapons by investigators to cases of “imminent threat” and requiring mandatory warnings.
Homeland security officials have defended the use of chemical weapons and other crowd control tactics in the face of what they call “rioters.”
“There is no better person for the Department of Homeland Security to correct Judge Ellis’ deep misconceptions about its mission, and we thank him for his service,” a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said of Bovino’s testimony.
The hearing, scheduled for 10 a.m. local time in federal court in Dirksen, comes as the Supreme Court considers whether to authorize the White House to send troops to the city. The Trump administration says the military is needed to crack down on immigration enforcement targeting the “worst of the worst” criminal immigrants.
Local Democratic officials see the raid as a power grab by the Republican White House and take issue with the use of chemical weapons by federal agents in residential areas during the crackdown.
On October 27, the Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs at the Department of Homeland Security said that “more than 3,000 illegal aliens, including rapists, murderers, and gang members” had been arrested in connection with the raid. USA TODAY has not been able to independently verify the detainees’ criminal histories or immigration status.
Here’s what you need to know before Bovino takes a stand.
Were protesters executed in gas chambers?
The video, which purportedly shows a Border Patrol chief throwing tear gas into a crowd, was taken by an anti-immigrant protester and linked to federal court documents by lawyers critical of Homeland Security. The incident dates back to Oct. 23, during an immigration enforcement raid on Little Village, a South Side neighborhood and the heart of Chicago’s Mexican community. It was the second attack in recent days.
Tear gas can severely irritate the eyes, nose, and throat, making it difficult to see and breathe.
Moments later, Bovino threw a second can “without apparent justification or warning,” according to a court filing on Oct. 26 by a lawyer representing the private group.
Lawyers for the protesters, journalists and clergy members wrote that they had grave concerns that “the defendants were simply ignoring the court’s” temporary restraining order.
The Department of Homeland Security said in a post to X at the time that “rioters…began throwing rocks and other objects at personnel, including one that struck Secretary Greg Bovino in the head.”
Later on October 23, in an interview with Spanish-language television station Telemundo, Bovino appeared unharmed, saying of Ellis’ order, “I wonder if Judge Ellis got hit in the head with a rock like I did this morning…Maybe she needs to see what it looks like before she makes an order like that.”
Who is Bovino?
Border Patrol Chief Bovino arrived in Chicago shortly after President Trump launched the air raids on September 8th.
“Operation at Large is here to continue the mission we started in Los Angeles: to make our city safer by targeting and arresting criminal illegal aliens,” he announced on September 16.
The longtime Border Patrol agent led immigration raids in Los Angeles that sparked widespread protests and quickly gained a reputation for high-profile tactics in Chicago.
On September 30, he led a raid in which agents rappelled from a Black Hawk helicopter and raided a South Side apartment building. Lawyers for the National Immigration Justice Center said it was unclear whether agents had a warrant for the pre-dawn raid, which left dozens of people arrested and buildings abandoned.
Around the same time, Mr. Bovino was also seen on the Chicago River in a boat with heavily armed operatives. “To the boat,” he wrote in a Sept. 30 post to X. “We will use every resource and tactic to let those who violate our laws know we are coming for you!”
Why did the judge seek to prohibit agents from using chemical weapons?
Bovino is being called to testify in connection with a federal lawsuit over the use of chemical weapons by federal immigration officials against journalists, clergy and protesters.
The case was first filed in the Northern District of Illinois on October 6, and Chief Judge Ellis issued an order on October 9 restricting investigators’ reliance on aggressive tactics.
Ms. Ellis has questioned in court filings and hearings whether her agents were following her orders. On October 16, she also ordered agents to use body-worn cameras following two high-profile raids.
On October 20, she called top officials from the Department of Homeland Security to testify. Customs and Border Protection Incident Deputy Commander. Kyle Harvick and Immigration and Customs Enforcement Deputy Director Sean Byers both told Ellis that their officers were following her orders.
At an Oct. 20 hearing, Ellis gave lawyers for the private group two hours to remove Bovino from office. After a video of him deploying tear gas was released, she immediately extended his testimony to five hours and ordered him to appear in court, according to court filings.
Bovino’s hearing is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. local time. It is unclear whether he will use the public entrance to the building or a private entrance used by other immigration officials.
