Judge orders Border Patrol boss Gregory Bovino to court daily
www.chicagotribune.com
A visibly displeased federal judge Tuesday ordered Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino to start coming to court every day to detail any confrontations his immigration enforcement officers have had with the public, a move that comes amid mounting allegations of inappropriate use of force.

During a remarkable hourlong session with Bovino on the witness stand Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis instructed the 30-year border patrol veteran to get his own body-worn camera and send her every use-of-force report — and accompanying body-cam footage — filed since “Operation Midway Blitz” began nearly two months ago.

While she stopped short of finding any specific violations had occurred, Ellis ordered Bovino to appear before her in open court at 5:45 p.m. each weekday to go over any uses of force from that day. The appearances would be required until at least Nov. 5, when Ellis is scheduled to hold a full hearing on a preliminary injunction.

The judge said that since she’s sure Bovino would not simply ignore a court order, the only explanation for what she’s been seeing on videos sent to her by the plaintiffs is that her order is simply not clear enough. “So I thought it would be a really good idea to go through it so that we are on the same page,” she said.

  • pelespirit@sh.itjust.works
    14·
    14 hours ago

    Bovino, who previously had served a similar role in a crackdown in Los Angeles, is the public face of “Operation Midway Blitz,” the Trump administration’s ongoing immigration-enforcement blitz.

    Sporting a high-and-tight haircut and talking often in militaristic terms, Bovino has been featured in slickly produced social media videos put out by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security purporting to be ridding Chicago’s streets of the “worst of the worst,” undocumented immigrants who have a history of violent criminal behavior.

    But scant details on those arrested have been officially released, and critics say the vast majority have had no criminal backgrounds whatsoever.

    The video is a little satisfying. Chicago is awesome: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjR5xZYoi_w

    Not as satisfying as the Wheeling, IL video in the comments, below the video of the woman flipping the bird: https://bsky.app/profile/youranoncentral.bsky.social/post/3m3tikewhgk27