Overview
- Multiple outlets report Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino and many agents plan to depart Chicago as early as this week, with Charlotte and then New Orleans under consideration, while ICE operations are expected to continue.
- Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said, “We aren’t leaving Chicago,” touting declines in homicides and shootings, as local reporting indicated the Midway Blitz command post is shutting down.
- U.S. District Judge Sara L. Ellis last week issued a preliminary injunction restricting agents’ use of tear gas and other crowd-control weapons, mandating body cameras and visible identification.
- The Trump administration has filed an emergency request with the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to stay Ellis’ order, after the judge found Bovino’s testimony about a Little Village tear-gas incident was not credible and said he admitted he lied.
- Tensions escalated after agents posed for a photo at Cloud Gate, drawing rebukes from Mayor Brandon Johnson and Gov. JB Pritzker, as President Trump urged calling in troops to address Chicago crime on social media.