Overview
- The Justice Department asked the 7th Circuit to pause Judge Sara Ellis's preliminary injunction that restricts federal agents' use of force during Operation Midway Blitz.
- Multiple outlets, citing U.S. officials, report Cmdr. Gregory Bovino and many Border Patrol agents plan to leave Chicago this week, with potential redeployments to Charlotte and New Orleans and ICE activity continuing in the city.
- A DHS spokesperson said, "We aren't leaving Chicago," pushing back on reports of a full withdrawal and highlighting declines in homicides, shootings, robberies and other crimes since September.
- Ellis found government testimony not credible, citing body‑camera and other video and Bovino’s admission he lied about being hit by a rock before deploying tear gas, and she ordered body cameras, visible identification and advance warnings before chemical munitions.
- DHS says arrests have surpassed roughly 3,000 since early September, while local officials and reporting note major crime was already falling before the surge and dispute attributing declines to the federal operation.