CHICAGO (NewsNation) — The U.S. Border Patrol commander who has remained front and center of an ongoing federal crime and immigration crackdown in Chicago is committed to “going harder” after being brought before a Chicago federal judge this week.
Gregory Bovino told NewsNation on Wednesday that he and the hundreds of federal officers and agents assigned to “Operation Midway Blitz” will push for more arrests as the ongoing federal operation continues.
Department of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said Thursday that the operation, which began Sept. 8, has led to more than 3,000 arrests thus far.
But after Bovino was required to appear Tuesday before U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis, who had expressed concerns that federal officers and agents were violating a previously issued temporary restraining order, the veteran immigration official said he now has extra motivation to do his job.
“We’re going hard,” Bovino told NewsNation. “We’re going to turn and burn as we always say here at Operation Midway Blitz … and we’re going to apprehend even more illegal aliens, bad people and bad things here on the streets of Chicago.”
Bovino spoke to NewsNation hours after an Illinois appeals court issued a stay on Ellis’ order from Tuesday’s hearing that required Bovino to meet with her daily to discuss federal operations in Chicago.
Bovino told NewsNation that federal officers and agents continue to follow the guidelines of the restraining order, which Ellis issued in response to a federal lawsuit filed by journalists, protesters and clergy over the use of force, including the deployment of tear gas by federal agents.
He said when the order was issued by Ellis, officials went line by line to ensure compliance and for “air-tight, legal, ethical and moral” operations. However, several Illinois elected officials, including Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, both Democrats, have continued to criticize the ongoing operations and Bovino personally.
Community leaders and protesters have accused federal officers of “kidnapping” migrants off the streets and of taking detainees into custody without warrants.
Previous restraining orders were issued to federal agents in California, including as part of a large-scale immigration and crime crackdown that took place earlier this year in Los Angeles. Bovino said that as the agency has in the past, DHS will follow court orders “by the letter of the law,” which he said will continue throughout the duration of the Chicago-based operation.
“TROs are simply a facet of doing business, and we do our business very well,” Bovino told NewsNation. “And the business of arresting illegal aliens here in the United States is definitely good.”
Ellis and local elected officials have continued to decry the use of tear gas, which has been deployed in local neighborhoods and at the ICE processing center in suburban Broadview. Ellis stopped short of banning the use of chemical and other nonlethal munitions by federal agents.
However, Ellis told Bovino that she would prohibit the use of those measures if she learned of violations of the restraining order. That order bans federal officers and agents from deploying tear gas and pepper spray against journalists, clergy and protesters if they are not posing an immediate threat to federal law enforcement.
Bovino, citing an upcoming deposition with attorneys, declined to speak specifically about instances in which tear gas has been deployed. However, he described the use of nonlethal munitions as a tool that is designed to keep officers, detainees and other members of the public safe.
Ellis’ previous order also requires federal officers to wear body-worn cameras to provide documentation of their ongoing enforcement operations. Bovino testified Tuesday that 99% of officers assigned to Operation Midway Blitz are using those cameras but acknowledged he does not have that equipment nor has he been trained to use it. Ellis ordered Bovino to undergo that training and to begin wearing a body camera by Friday.
Bovino told the judge he would comply and told NewsNation he welcomes the opportunity to join other federal officers who are using them.
“I can assure you that camera will be put to very good use,” Bovino said. “It will help tell a story … and some folks will be shocked by what they see from my body camera just as they will be shocked by the cameras worn by our agents.”
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