⚖️ Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino Ordered to Testify in Chicago Tactics Case
Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino is set to be deposed Thursday morning in connection with a federal lawsuit challenging his agency’s immigration enforcement tactics in the Chicago area.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs, who accuse federal agents of excessive force against peaceful demonstrators, will question Bovino for up to five hours, according to court filings.
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🧑⚖️ Court Clash Over Daily Briefings
The deposition follows a turbulent week in court. On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis ordered Bovino to appear daily to brief her on Border Patrol operations after receiving reports that agents ignored limits on the use of tear gas and other crowd-control weapons.
However, just hours before his next scheduled briefing, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily blocked Ellis’s order, siding with the Trump administration, which argued that forcing a senior official into daily hearings would be “extraordinarily disruptive” and “irreparably harm the government.”
The appeals court’s pause gives the administration time to pursue a full challenge to Ellis’s directive.
🚨 Operation ‘Midway Blitz’ Under Scrutiny
Bovino has become the public face of Operation Midway Blitz, a federal immigration enforcement campaign launched in Chicago in September that has led to more than 3,000 arrests, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
While DHS claims the crackdown targets violent offenders and illegal entrants, activists say the response to protests has been disproportionate, with agents allegedly firing tear gas and pepper balls without warning.
💬 Conflicting Accounts
Before the appeals court ruling, Bovino told Fox News he welcomed the opportunity to meet with the judge, insisting federal agents face extreme violence during operations.
“If she wants to meet with me every day, then she’ll get a firsthand look at how bad things really are on the streets of Chicago,” Bovino said.
Plaintiffs allege he personally deployed a tear gas canister into a crowd — a claim DHS denies.
⚠️ Judge’s Warning Ahead of Halloween
Judge Ellis expressed concern that federal agents were not following her temporary restraining order, which prohibits the use of tear gas or “less-lethal” munitions unless there is an immediate threat and requires clear warnings before deployment.
She ordered the government to submit body-camera footage and use-of-force reports from September 2 through last week and warned that violations during Halloween weekend would not be tolerated.
📅 What Comes Next
A hearing next week will determine whether Ellis’s temporary order becomes a long-term injunction restricting federal crowd-control tactics in Chicago.
The Department of Homeland Security celebrated the appeals court’s intervention, calling the district court’s earlier requirement “judicial overreach.”
For now, it remains unclear whether Bovino will appear in court again on Thursday as legal battles over federal authority and civil-rights protections continue.