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.
“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.”