Politics
Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss Confronts Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino as Immigration Enforcement Continues
Video: Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss confronts Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino on Dec. 17, 2025. (Courtesy of Jeffrey Gonzalez)
Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss confronted Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino and other federal agents in the northern suburb Wednesday amid a renewed increase in immigration enforcement in and around Chicago this week.
Video shared with WTTW News showed Biss, who is also running for Congress, walk up to Bovino and a handful of masked immigration agents outside a gas station Wednesday morning. The group was surrounded by people holding camera phones as whistles blown by residents to warn of the agents’ presence repeatedly sounded in the background.
The two spoke calmly for about a minute before Bovino smiled at Biss and told him his agents would “make your city safe.” Bovino then walked away and left the scene.
Bovino later described the encounter in a social media post, saying Biss had asked him why he was in Evanston.
“I told the mayor that we were there to make his city a safer place through Title 8 Immigration enforcement and how these enforcement operations work,” Bovino said. “Although he fell back into the divisive talking points that we’ve heard ad nauseum from politicians in Chicago, I hope it was enlightening to him.”
In the same post, Bovino also thanked police in Evanston and Chicago for providing “assistance in preventing violent mobs from assaulting our law enforcement officers.”
The Border Patrol commander’s return to the Chicago-area this week brought with it renewed immigration enforcement efforts, as local advocates said more than a dozen people were detained in federal operations on the city’s Southwest Side Tuesday.
The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to an inquiry from WTTW News on Tuesday about the number of arrests federal agents made. The department, however, did reiterate that immigration agents are not leaving Chicago and operations are ongoing.
Biss in a social media post Wednesday said he’d learned that Border Patrol and Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents had been spotted in Evanston, the Rogers Park neighborhood and surrounding areas.
“We have no confirmed reports of abductions at this time,” he said in the post. “Please be alert, be safe, and call 855-435-7693 to report ICE activity or request assistance.”
Biss, a Democrat, previously served in the Illinois state legislature and is currently running to replace outgoing Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky to represent Illinois’ 9th District in the U.S. House of Representatives.
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