A federal judge in Illinois has reportedly now taken what one former prosecutor called an extraordinary step in the federal government’s renewed focus on illegal immigration enforcement in Chicago, ordering a top Border Patrol official to provide daily reports to the court regarding ongoing operations.
U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis, appointed by former President Barack Obama, directed Gregory Bovino, the Border Patrol chief involved in the coordinated operations, to report to her every weekday morning. “Mr. Bovino’s going to be here every day at 6 to tell me what happened,” Judge Ellis declared, according to Politico.
The unusual order follows the Trump administration’s intensified efforts to detain criminal illegal migrants in cities where local governments have adopted sanctuary policies. The nationwide push, which has already included operations in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., has shifted to Chicago under “Operation Midway Blitz,” launched in early September.
President Donald Trump has also sought additional federal support on the ground. Earlier this month, the administration petitioned the Supreme Court to allow National Guard forces to assist immigration agents in Chicago after a lower court blocked the deployment.
In that filing, Solicitor General John Sauer described increasingly violent conditions faced by federal agents. “In recent weeks, federal officers in Chicago have been threatened and assaulted, attacked in a harrowing pre-planned ambush involving many assailants, rammed in their government vehicles, shot at with fireworks and other improvised weapons, injured and hospitalized, and threatened in person and online — including by a $10,000 bounty for the murder of a senior federal official,” Sauer wrote, arguing that additional manpower was needed to protect public safety.
Despite her ongoing oversight, Judge Ellis emphasized that she would not obstruct the enforcement of laws passed by Congress. “My role is not to tell you that you can or cannot enforce validly passed laws by Congress,” she said. “My role is simply to see that any enforcement of those laws is done in a manner that is consistent with your obligations under the law.”
Opposition to federal immigration enforcement remains strong in Chicago, where some residents have lodged legal challenges accusing agents of endangering the public by using chemical agents during operations. Ellis is presiding over one such case, which has become a focal point for critics of the administration’s tactics.
Phillip Turner, a former federal prosecutor in Chicago, expressed astonishment at the court’s intervention. “I’ve been a lawyer for almost 50 years, and I’ve never seen anything like this,” Turner told the Associated Press regarding the requirement for a senior Border Patrol official to appear daily.
For its part, the Department of Homeland Security maintains that the focus remains on detaining individuals who pose a risk to the community. Officials have noted recent incidents in which federal agents were surrounded by large groups of rioters and targeted with improvised weapons, including commercial artillery fireworks.
[READ MORE: Adviser’s Bonus Raises New Questions in House Inquiry into Biden Campaign]
About Post Author
