ICE Chicago news: Federal judge questions ICE, CBP on federal agents' use of force, tear gas
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CHICAGO (WLS) — On Monday, federal authorities presented their case in court regarding the recent immigration enforcement actions in Chicago.

U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis summoned officials from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to provide testimony.

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This judicial session follows nearly a week after two individuals were detained on the Southeast Side, a situation that led to large public gatherings and the use of tear gas.

Officials from ICE and CBP are responding to inquiries about the application of force and the circumstances surrounding the use of tear gas.

In court documents, the federal government listed Monday’s witnesses as Customs and Border Protection Deputy Incident Commander Kyle Harvick and ICE Deputy Field Office Director Shawn Byers.

SEE ALSO | Chicago federal intervention: Tracking surge in immigration enforcement operations | Live updates

Harvick testified that all agents working under “Operation Midway Blitz” have been assigned body-worn cameras. He also said there are 201 Border Patrol agents in the Chicago area, including command staff. The number does not include ICE agents.

During Harvick’s testimony, he provided the agency’s justifications for deploying tear gas in both the Oct. 12 Albany Park arrest and Oct. 14 Southeast Side pursuit-turned-arrest-turned-protest incident.

For Albany Park, Harvick said he reviewed body-camera footage from two officers on the scene that day, and a supervisor that arrived on scene determined tear gas should be deployed as members of the public were “linking arms” and surrounding the agents after they arrested someone, preventing them from exiting.

For the Southeast Side, Harvick said he did not review any body-camera footage, but “he was told warnings were given.” He said that officers determined to deploy tear gas after objects, including an egg, brick and “metal object,” were thrown in their direction.

Harvick said CBP officers are required to wear and keep cameras on and recording during enforcement activities.

Harvick also testified that the requirements of the temporary restraining order she issued, including the modification about body cameras, has been relayed electronically to all agents, and discussed during morning roll-call meetings.

Under questioning from Ellis, Harvick said that all CBP agents are trained in basic crowd control procedures and some agents have more advanced training, but he said that there had not been any specific crowd control training to prepare for the deployment to Chicago. All agents, he said, are trained quarterly on use-of-force.

Ellis also inquired specifically about the practice of agents wearing face and head coverings during enforcement activity. Harvick said that some agents wear them as some protection from cold weather or from breathing in gasses; he acknowledged that “mostly it’s for doxxing cases that we have experienced for agents or their families.”

In accordance with the TRO, Harvick said, all CBP agents have been instructed to display somewhere on their uniform an identifying number. In some cases, agents have written their number on a piece of duct tape and stuck it on the uniform’s shoulders.

Ellis stated last week that she was “deeply concerned” with various incidents involving federal agents in the Chicago area.

Judge Ellis ordered agents to not use tear gas with peaceful protesters without warning.

She also modified an existing temporary restraining order to require all agents working under “Operation Midway Blitz” who have body cameras to turn them on during law enforcement activities.

ABC7 Chicago Chief Legal Analyst Gil Soffer shared what to expect out of Monday’s hearing.

“It could be quite interesting because the judge is going to get into some nitty gritty about what exactly ICE is doing to comply with the order,” Soffer said.

Another federal judge had already temporarily blocked the deployment of the National Guard in the area.

Monday is also the deadline for the city and state to respond to the Trump Administration’s appeal to the Supreme Court to allow National Guard troops to take to Chicago area streets.

It is unclear if the Supreme Court plans to hear the emergency motion, but experts say if the high court does take on the case and rule in the Trump administration’s favor, National Guard troops could be on the ground within a month.

ABC News contributed to this report.

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