Overview
- Border Patrol teams led by Commander Gregory Bovino returned Tuesday and detained multiple people on Chicago’s Southwest Side and in nearby suburbs, with advocates reporting about 15 arrests and videos showing agents deploying pepper balls in Little Village.
- On Wednesday, a caravan of SUVs moved from Midway through the North Side into Evanston, where agents made at least one arrest at a gas station and Bovino argued with Mayor Daniel Biss during an impromptu appearance.
- DHS said operations are ongoing and declined to say how long agents will stay, while Bovino said several hundred federal personnel have been in the area; Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Chicago officials said they received no advance notice.
- Bovino praised local police for assistance, but Chicago police said they did not aid immigration enforcement and only responded to a reported traffic incident involving a Border Patrol vehicle, reflecting ongoing friction over local cooperation limits.
- Oversight and transparency questions persisted, with prior court limits on use of force stayed on appeal and disputed arrest figures from recent Louisiana sweeps, where records show most detainees lacked criminal histories.