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border Patrol Commander leading immigration crackdown chicago Praised the aggressive tactics of its agents that led to a backlash and lawsuits from residents.
From the use of chemical agents to a helicopter strike on an apartment building, Gregory Bovino defended U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s approach, saying it was appropriate and necessary for the threats his agents faced in the nation’s third-largest city.
“I had no reason to think it would be this bad, but it’s worse than I thought,” Bovino told The Associated Press during a wide-ranging interview between meeting with staff at a suburban CBP office and sitting in for yet another testimony in the looming trial over his tactics.
More than 3,200 people have been arrested with alleged immigration violations since “Operation Midway Blitz” began in September as part of an effort by the Trump administration to target cities with “sanctuary” immigration policies. What began as a few arrests in Latino and immigrant-heavy communities spread across the city of 2.7 million and many of its suburbs, reaching as far as Indiana.
Bovino spoke to the AP as new teams were replacing agents who had spent two months in Chicago, some of whom were straight from the Los Angeles action. He compared the officers patrolling the area to a working force of police, but their mission is to repel the “invasion” of “criminal illegal aliens,” as Trump administration leaders describe people living in the country without legal permission.
“We are what I call sanctuary busters now,” he said. “There are no sanctuaries. There will be no sanctuaries.”
Double effect on chemical agents
Bovino appears around Chicago, where the sight of Border Patrol agents away from international borders has startled residents.
While retaining his job as Border Patrol field chief in El Centro, California, along the U.S.-Mexico border, Bovino led Chicago River boat patrols and led armed agents in a march along the Michigan Avenue shopping district. He is regularly seen at daily functions in Little Village Mexican A neighborhood with a busy business corridor.
Activists and residents responded quickly when agents were spotted in and around Chicago, blowing whistles and blowing horns as they chased CBP vehicles. Agents have increasingly used rubber bullets, pepper balls and CS gas, a synthetic irritant that police use as tear gas.
During a clash in Little Village, Bovino threw a canister of gas toward a crowd he claimed included rioters. The Department of Homeland Security said Bovino was attacked with a rock. Bystanders rejected that claim and said the agents deployed the gas without warning.
Bovino told the AP that chemical agents are “much less lethal” than using chemical agents.
“We use the minimum amount of force necessary to effect an arrest, we do that,” he said. “If I had more CS gas, I would have deployed it.”
The tactics of immigration agents are the subject of legal challenges. A judge required him to wear a body camera and document the arrest and forced Bovino into the courtroom. Suburban Broadview, site of the immigration processing center, also has opened three criminal investigations against federal agents.
Praising the raid which increased the tension
Agents have made arrests in courthouses, schools, outside homes and, increasingly, on freeways. On Monday, a half-dozen agents knocked on truck cabs at a truck stop in Hampshire, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) outside Chicago, and asked drivers if they were U.S. citizens. The operation resembled Border Patrol checkpoints that are common along the Mexican border. The AP saw two arrests — an Uzbek man and a Russian driver with a pending asylum application.
Bovino spoke immediately after Pres. donald trump His administration supported the use of tear gas and other tactics that are rarely seen away from the border because “you have to take people out.”
“I think (the raids) haven’t gone far enough because we’ve been stopped by judges, by liberal judges, that Biden and Obama put in place,” Trump said in a CBS “60 Minutes” interview that aired Sunday.
Bovino stressed that some Chicago residents have thanked him, including after a raid where hundreds of agents stormed an apartment building in a largely Black South Shore neighborhood, where there has been an influx of immigrants and frequent complaints.
Agents used Blackhawk helicopters to storm the building and explosives to open the doors, which critics described as excessive and inhumane.
Illinois Government. JB Pritzker It called for an investigation into reports that children had been tied up with zip ties and that several US citizens had also been held hostage for hours. Federal authorities said they have arrested two men allegedly linked to the Tren de Aragua street gang, along with dozens of others suspected of violating immigration laws.
Bovino said the agency’s intelligence showed the building was a threat, prompting an intensive approach.
“A lot of people said that’s a bit much. Well, how would they intend to bring a safety element to the roof to make it safer for those going into that apartment or neighboring buildings?” He said. “I’m proud to say that it turned out as well as it could have.”
Bovino said he has not seen evidence of Border Patrol teams’ contact with children, despite accounts and videos from residents, including in one neighborhood where people said children preparing for a Halloween parade were exposed to tear gas.
Accusing elected leaders and workers
Bovino’s appearance is the subject of frequent angry news conferences in the Democratic stronghold, as Pritzker has emerged as a potential 2028 presidential contender, and Trump has drawn heated exchanges. Pritzker argues that federal agents inflame tensions and that increased militarization is part of a broader conspiracy to influence elections.
Bovino pointed the finger at Pritzker, activists and news outlets. He called Pritzker “wildly misinformed” during the interview, repeatedly mispronouncing his name, even after being called out, and poked fun at the governor’s appearance.
In response, Pritzker’s office said Tuesday that the federal government had diverted valuable public safety resources to Bovino’s “publicity stunt” aimed at boosting his ego.
Bovino did not say when the Chicago operation would close or say which city might be the next target, urging the element of surprise.
“We will be in Chicago for a while,” he said. “but you never know.”
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Associated Press reporter Elliot Spaghette contributed.