An Illinois federal judge admonished the Border Patrol official leading the Trump administration’s immigration raids in Chicago for the harsh tactics he and his officers have been using against angry civilians — even on residential streets decked out for a Halloween parade.
U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis ordered Gregory Bovino, who appeared in his Border Patrol uniform, to report to her each weekday at 6 p.m. with information about the day’s confrontations.
Reports from the courtroom on Tuesday indicated that Bovino was largely made to listen while Ellis laid out the restrictions she had already set in place. He responded to some questions with a simple, “Yes, ma’am.”
Bovino also pledged to begin wearing a body camera by Friday, as Ellis had told officers to do earlier this month.
The hearing came after video appeared to show federal officials deploying tear gas on Saturday in Chicago’s Old Irving Park neighborhood, which was supposed to host a children’s Halloween parade the same morning. Once word arrived that federal agents were nearby, the event was called off, according to Block Club Chicago, a local news site.
Federal immigration officials were already under order to only deploy tear gas after giving two verbal warnings and allowing people time to react.
“Kids dressed in Halloween costumes, walking to a parade, do not pose an immediate threat for the safety of a law enforcement officer,” Ellis said, according to Reuters.
“They just don’t. And you can’t use riot-control weapons against them.”
Ellis said that, for the children, “their sense of safety was shattered on Saturday.”
The judge also noted that she has been seeing concerning videos of confrontations between civilians and officers with Border Patrol or Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
She made a particular point about the upcoming Halloween holiday.
“I do not want to get violation reports from the plaintiffs that show that agents are out and about on Halloween, where kids are present, and tear gas is being deployed,” she told Bovino, per WBEZ Chicago.
After the hearing, the Department of Homeland Security posted a bizarre video in support of Bovino, claiming he is “putting his life on the line.”
“We REFUSE to back down from our mission to make America safe,” the department said on social media.
Since September, hundreds of people have been arrested in Chicago as part of the immigration crackdown ordered by President Donald Trump, who pledged during his campaign to mass-deport immigrants.
Many of the confrontations have unfolded as community members react angrily to ICE showing up in their neighborhoods to make arrests.
Bovino became the face of the Chicago operation after video emerged appearing to show him personally tossing a canister of tear gas at a crowd of protesters. Per Ellis’ instruction, tear gas is not supposed to be detonated above people’s heads or at anyone who does not pose an immediate threat.
Tuesday’s hearing came as part of a lawsuit brought by media organizations and protesters objecting to federal agents’ treatment of protesters. Lawyers for the plaintiffs argue that the agents are inciting people to violence and then claiming they need to use violence against them.