Politics
Federal Judge Orders Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino to Wear Camera, Report to Her Every Day
Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino, who has led a series of increasingly aggressive raids across Chicago and the suburbs and fired tear gas at protesters in Little Village, must obtain and wear a body-worn camera and report every weekday at 6 p.m. in person to the federal judge who has tried to rein in federal agents’ use of force.
U.S. District Court Judge Sara Ellis questioned Bovino for approximately an hour and 15 minutes Tuesday morning in her courtroom at the Dirksen Federal Building in downtown Chicago, reading the temporary restraining order she issued more than two weeks ago line by line.
After reminding Bovino of the oath he took to “support and defend the Constitution,” Ellis displayed deep concern about the videos submitted to the court as evidence and others that have blanketed social media in Chicago and nationwide, triggering widespread outrage.
“It is difficult for me to see that the force being used is necessary to stop an immediate and serious threat of physical harm to a person,” Ellis said.
Bovino, whose brash social-media presence and frequent appearances in the media have come to define what the Trump administration calls “Operation Midway Blitz,” said little during the hearing.
Federal agents fired tear gas at Chicagoans on Thursday in Little Village, on Friday in Lakeview and in Old Irving Park on Saturday. Since Oct. 3, federal agents have fired tear gas at protesters seven times.
Forty Chicago police officers were exposed to tear gas in two of those incidents.
Ellis appeared particularly incensed by what happened on Saturday in Old Irving Park, when federal agents deployed tear gas after residents protested their attempts to detain a construction worker.
“Kids dressed in Halloween costumes, walking to a parade, do not pose an immediate threat to the safety of a law enforcement officer,” Ellis said. “They just don’t.”
Ellis said the entire Old Irving Park community had been traumatized by the actions of federal agents, particularly children who witnessed the confrontation and experienced the effect of the chemical agent.
“Their sense of safety was shattered,” Ellis said. “It is going to take a long time to come back, if ever.”
Although Bovino personally deployed tear gas on Thursday in Little Village, Ellis did not question him about his conduct during that day. Federal officials said Bovino fired the tear gas after he was struck in the head by objects thrown by the protestors. Bovino had no visible head injury Tuesday.
“The camera is your friend,” Ellis said, adding that a camera would capture someone throwing a rock or fireworks at him. “And then it won’t just be your word.”
An image taken from a video entered as evidence in the court case, showing Border Patrol chief Gregory Bovino firing tear gas, circled in red by lawyers for the Chicago Headline Club, at a crowd of protesters. (Provided)
Ellis’ order also requires federal agents to display their identification, including names and badge numbers. At Ellis’ urging, Bovino said he would again order agents to “conspicuously” display that information in a location of their choosing.
More than two weeks ago, Ellis prohibited federal agents from deploying tear gas and other weapons against journalists, protesters and anyone not posing an immediate threat to immigration enforcement agents.
If agents determine crowds pose a threat, they must issue two warnings before using tear gas and other types of chemical sprays, according to Ellis’ order, which was issued in relation to a case brought by the Chicago Headline Club, Chicago Newspaper Guild Local 34071, Block Club Chicago and other media organizations.
Ellis said it appeared that her order had not been followed, and told Bovino that she could think of only three reasons: the order was unclear, the order was misunderstood or the order was purposely violated.
Ellis said she was certain that Bovino would not knowingly breach an order issued by a federal judge, and added that she ordered him into the court to make sure there was no confusion.
The people of Chicago have a right to tell Bovino and the agents under his command that they don’t like what they are doing and want them to leave, Ellis said.
“They can’t get tear gassed” for exercising their rights under the First Amendment, Ellis said.
“I understand what you are saying, your honor,” Bovino said, under oath. “We will abide by the temporary restraining order.”
Ellis ordered Bovino to report to her chambers every weekday at 6 p.m. to recap the events of the day and inform her of any use of force.
Ellis also ordered lawyers for the government to submit all of the reports documenting when federal agents used force against members of the public, and all body-worn camera footage that captured those interactions, by Friday. Any future reports about force used by federal agents must be submitted to the court within 24 hours, Ellis ruled.
Ellis also ordered the government to submit detailed information about every person detained or arrested for non-immigration offenses by Friday, and within 24 hours of future arrests.
Those reports and footage will not be made public, Ellis ruled.
While Bovino agreed to appear as ordered, lawyers for the government objected and asked Ellis to prevent her order from taking effect to allow them a chance to appeal.
Temporary restraining orders are not typically able to be appealed. Ellis said she would exercise her authority to enforce her order. A hearing on a permanent order reining in federal agents’ conduct is set for Nov. 5.
While the plaintiffs asked Ellis to ban the use of tear gas, in order to “prevent additional extreme harm,” Ellis declined to do so, at least on Tuesday.
“If they are using tear gas, they better be able to back it up,” Ellis said. “And if they can’t, then they will lose that as something they can use.”
Lawyers for the government told Ellis it would be “frankly, dangerous” for her to issue such an order.
Ellis said she hoped Bovino now understands “what his obligations are as the commander of Midway Blitz and what his agents are allowed, and not allowed to do.”
“I expect everyone to act in good faith,” Ellis says, saying she does not want to run this operation. “I don’t know that we’re going to see a whole lot of people tear gas being deployed over the next week.”
Ellis also instructed lawyers for the government to warn agents to be extra cautious on Halloween.
“Know that it is a day where people will be out and about,” Ellis said.
Three Days of Tear Gas in Chicago
Ellis ordered Bovino into her courtroom hours after federal agents deployed tear gas against residents of Lakeview on Friday, less than 24 hours after Bovino and agents deployed tear gas against residents of Little Village.
Hours after Ellis’ order, federal agents deployed tear gas in Old Irving Park.
“This past weekend, defendants went on a tour of Chicago neighborhoods, gassing residents in different neighborhoods each day,” according to a court filing from the plaintiffs. “The government is regularly inflicting harm on civilians who are simply protesting or observing defendants’ violent and unprecedented paramilitary enforcement efforts in one of the country’s largest municipalities.”
Ellis said she was disturbed that she could hear no warnings from federal agents on any of the videos.
“A warning has to be ‘I am going to deploy tear gas if you do not do whatever it is ... get off my car’ .. and allow people time to comply,” Ellis said.
While agents did not deploy tear gas on Thursday in Little Village, “one federal officer, who was not wearing a body camera or any obvious visible identification shot … Enrique Bahena in the neck from five feet away with a pepper ball,” according to the court filing.
As the agents drove away from that incident, “they pointed a pepper ball gun and then a real gun at … Chris Gentry, a combat veteran who was lawfully standing on the side of the road ‘bang, bang,’ and ‘you’re dead liberal,’” while Gentry stood on the side of the road and protested.
“On its face, that violates the TRO,” Ellis said, using the abbreviation for a temporary restraining order.
An image taken from a video entered as evidence in the court case, showing the moment before a federal agent shot a pepper ball at Enrique Bahena on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025. (Provided)
Bovino said he did not know the specifics of what happened, even though he was present in Little Village on Thursday, but acknowledged the basis for the judge’s concerns.
While at least some of the agents have appeared to be wearing cameras on their uniforms, no footage has been turned over to lawyers for the plaintiffs.
In an interview with CBS News published Friday, Bovino said he and his agents had complied with Border Patrol policy when using force against Chicagoans.
“The use of force that I’ve seen has been exemplary — the least amount of force necessary to accomplish the mission,” Bovino said. “If someone strays into a pepper ball, then that’s on them. Don’t protest and don’t trespass.”
The right to protest actions by the government is protected by the First Amendment.
In a separate case challenging President Donald Trump’s deployment of 700 National Guard troops to Chicago, U.S. District Court Judge April Perry said she found federal officials’ assertions that federal agents had been subjected to serious and coordinated violence by protesters “simply unreliable.”
The Face of ‘Operation Midway Blitz’
First in Los Angeles and then in Chicago, Bovino has become the face of Trump’s effort to use federal law enforcement agencies to fulfill his promise to conduct the “largest domestic deportation operation in American history.”
In July, Bovino led a phalanx of military personnel into MacArthur Park, forcing children to flee the park and enraging city officials.
In September, a man charged with assaulting a federal agent was acquitted by a jury after Bovino testified he saw the man drag his arm back and strike an agent with an open palm in the chest.
During the Biden administration, Bovino was reprimanded for referring to undocumented immigrants as “scum, filth and trash.” Bovino said under oath he was referring to a specific undocumented immigrant.
On Sept. 25, Bovino rode down the Chicago River alongside several agents armed with military-style weapons. On Sept. 29, Bovino and dozens of agents marched through downtown Chicago and told WBEZ-FM the agents were arresting people based on “how they look.”
Bovino and other Trump administration officials have shared several Hollywood-style promotional videos of masked, heavily armed officers detaining people who appear to be Latino. One video showed agents rappelling on to an apartment building in South Shore where they said gang members lived. Only one person has been charged with a crime after that raid, which triggered widespread outrage.
A 37-year-old man has been charged with soliciting Bovino’s murder. Although federal officials claimed in public statements that the man is a gang member, those allegations have not been repeated in court filings.
Bovino joined the Border Patrol in 1996. In 2020, Bovino was named chief patrol agent of the El Centro Sector.
In 2023, Bovino was briefly relieved of command after he testified critically about conditions along the border under former President Joe Biden’s administration. Bovino was also probed for posting incendiary messages on social media and for an online profile picture of him posing with an assault rifle.
Note: Loevy & Loevy, the firm representing the Chicago Headline Club and other news organizations, has done legal work for WTTW News.
Contact Heather Cherone: @HeatherCherone | (773) 569-1863 | [email protected]
