Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino appeared before a federal judge in Chicago today to report on immigration enforcement operations in Chicago. From WGN Christine Fernando, Erik Runge, Michael Johnson, and Ben Bradley report:
CHICAGO (AP/WGN) — Seated in a packed courtroom Tuesday and wearing a green Border Patrol street uniform, Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino was at Dirksen Federal Building taking questions about the immigration enforcement operation in the Chicago area, which has produced more than 1,800 arrests and complaints of excessive force.
Tuesday’s hearing comes after U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis earlier this month ordered uniformed immigration agents to wear body cameras, the latest step in a lawsuit by news outlets and protesters who say federal agents have used excessive force, including the use of tear gas, during protests against immigration operations in the Chicago area, called Operation Midway Blitz by the Trump administration.
The most telling section of the piece comes later when Judge Ellis orders Mr. Bovino to wear a body camera and appear before her on a daily basis:
On Tuesday, Ellis asked Bovino directly if he has a body-worn camera.
“I have not yet received a body-worn camera, nor the training,” Bovino answered.
The judge then told Bovino to get one by Friday.
“The camera is your friend,” Ellis said. “If someone is throwing a rock at your head, the camera will catch it.”
The judge ordered Border Patrol to turn over use-of-force reports and video from Sept. 2 through Saturday, Oct. 25, by the end of the week, and all future videos and reports within 24 hours of being finalized.
Ellis then ordered Bovino to show up in person every weekday at 6 p.m. to tell her about the day’s activities. She’s also requiring by Friday lists of all people arrested for non-immigration-related offenses, along with reports and video supporting the arrests.
I agree with those directions but I also acknowledge that there’s a narrow line between appropriate judicial oversight and actually impeding enforcement. We’ll see how this works out.
I also think that Congress needs to appropriate funds for body cameras for all Border Patrol officers along with directions for their use. Assuming, that is, that Congress comes back into session.
Furthermore, I wonder whether the Sun-Times will apologize to Mr. Bovino for suggesting that he would not appear.
I didn’t think Bovino would show and would have expected the latest round of orders from this judge to trigger an appeal. But the judge’s order says that Bovino “agreed to have a body?worn camera assigned to him by 10/31/2025 and have completed BWC training.” He seems to be in agreement with the terms here. My assumption is that he doesn’t believe the orders will interfere with immigration enforcement because this case isn’t about protecting foreign nationals, but the press, protestors and the clergy. Note that he is required to report on “non-immigration-related” arrests.