A top U.S. Border Patrol commander may be leaving Chicago in the coming days after leading a Trump administration crackdown that has enraged Democrat officials but resulted in thousands of arrests of illegal migrants in the nation's third-largest city.
Gregory Bovino and many of the green-uniformed agents under his command are slated to depart Chicago as early as this week, though some Customs and Border Protection personnel will remain, U.S. officials told CBS News.
Tricia McLaughlin, Department of Homeland Security assistant secretar, responded on Twitter to the initial report, saying "We aren't leaving Chicago."
Her post did not address whether Bovino would remain there. Newsmax reached out for comment and clarification.
She also cited statistics illustrating the successes of the Chicago effort, dubbed "Operation Midway Blitz,"which deployed more than 200 Border Patrol agents to Chicago and its suburbs to tackle illegal immigration and associated crime.
Internal figures cited by the Chicago Tribune show the ICE surge began Sept. 8 and has already led to more than 3,000 arrests of illegal migrants in and around Chicago.
Federal officials say agents have confronted suspects who opened fire on them, rammed vehicles, and attempted to flee arrest.
Yet instead of backing law enforcement, Illinois' Democrat leadership has largely turned its fire on the agents.
Democrat Gov. JB Pritzker blasted Border Patrol on social media after dozens of agents posed for a photo in front of Chicago's famous "Bean" sculpture, accusing Bovino's team of staging "reality TV moments" and declaring they were not in the city "to make Chicago safer."
Local politicians went even further, smearing the federal officers as a "new American Gestapo."
Bovino, a veteran of major enforcement operations in California and Los Angeles, has stood by his officers.
He told Newsmax last month that Pritzker's "false rhetoric" about prosecuting ICE agents was inciting violence.
Bovino has described Border Patrol's use of force as "exemplary" and insisted his agents follow strict protocols, emphasizing that deterrence and arrests are both key tools for any policing strategy aimed at those breaking U.S. immigration laws.
U.S. District Judge Sara L. Ellis last week accused immigration officials of mischaracterizing protests and imposed sweeping limits on agents' use of tear gas and other crowd-control tools.
Citing video evidence, Ellis ruled that testimony from Bovino and others about violence at demonstrations was not credible, and she ordered agents to wear body cameras, display clear identification, and sharply restrict when they can use less-lethal force.
The Department of Homeland Security pushed back, saying its officers face real threats from violent agitators even as they exercise "incredible restraint" before escalating force, and warning that Ellis' ruling endangers law enforcement.
Bovino told ABC News late last month that nearly 3,000 people have been arrested in Chicago since the immigration crackdown began.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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