Border Patrol official who is the face of Trump's crackdown back in
Chicago amid immigration raids
[December 17, 2025]
By CHRISTINE FERNANDO
CHICAGO (AP) — Senior Border Patrol official Greg Bovino returned to the
Chicago area on Tuesday, about a month after leaving to lead immigration
enforcements in other cities, immigration advocates say.
Bovino, the face of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown,
was photographed Tuesday in the predominantly Mexican American
neighborhood of Little Village by the Chicago Sun-Times as neighbors and
activists blew whistles and shouted.
Videos obtained by The Associated Press showed several unmarked cars and
Border Patrol agents deploying pepper balls and detaining a man in the
neighborhood's business corridor.
Bovino arrived in the Chicago area in September amid Operation Midway
Blitz, which has yielded thousands of arrests and fueled fear among
immigrant communities. The operation has become known for its aggressive
tactics, including the use of chemical munitions and car chases. Since
the operation began, federal agents deployed tear gas in neighborhood
streets, hit protesters and journalists with pepper balls and shot at
least two people, killing one.
Bovino left Chicago in November to lead immigration operations in New
Orleans and North Carolina. While immigration operations had continued
in Chicago, they were noticeably subdued with fewer tense
confrontations, and Tuesday's enforcements were among the most visible
since Bovino left town.
“As we said a month ago, we aren’t leaving Chicago and operations are
ongoing,” said Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary
Tricia McLaughlin.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker complained that he was not given notice that
Bovino and additional Border Patrol agents were returning to the Chicago
area on Tuesday. And he said he doesn’t know how long they’ll stay.
Pritzker also called on Bovino to testify in front of an Illinois
commission created in October to document misconduct by federal agents.
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Federal immigration enforcement agents stand guard in front of their
vehicles at West 33rd Street and South Ridgeway Avenue in the Little
Village neighborhood of Chicago, Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025. (Anthony
Vazquez/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)
“I’m so proud of the people of Illinois, for doing as they have,
which is to protect their neighborhoods and their neighbors, to do
the right thing,” Pritzker said Tuesday. “And so, I think we’re in a
much better position.”
At a Tuesday news conference, activists vowed to continue supporting
immigrant communities in the Chicago area. Advocates said 15 people,
including day laborers and a tamale vendor, were detained Tuesday on
the city's Southwest side and in suburban Berwyn and Cicero.
“We are tired but we are not weary," said Illinois State Senator
Celina Villanueva. “... Every single time that they come, we are
going to show up.”
Victor Rodriguez II, a lifelong resident of Little Village, said he
helped a woman when her husband was detained after a “caravan of
masked agents began terrorizing our community,” including using
pepper balls in neighborhood streets. Rodriguez accused Bovino of
“targeted political theater.”
Bob Reiter, president of the Chicago Federation of Labor, said
Border Patrol agents questioned striking laborers on Chicago's
Southwest side and accused Bovino of “coming to our picket line to
chill union activity.”
“We have seen the first act of this political theater they have
brought,” he said. “Now it’s the second act, and we’re ready.”
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