Federal Operations in Chicago Face Judicial Examination

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In the heart of Chicago, a federal judge’s apprehensions are mounting over the actions of federal agents and officers at anti-ICE protests. Judge Sara Ellis is worried that these law enforcement officials might be violating a temporary restraining order she previously issued. This situation has thrust top officials from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) into an intense spotlight.

Judge Ellis’s concerns are primarily centered around Operation Midway Blitz, where she suspects that federal officers might be improperly targeting protesters. This has been a particular worry at a suburban Chicago ICE facility that has recently witnessed violent confrontations, marked by the use of tear gas, pepper balls, and other non-lethal weapons. Despite these tensions, Deputy ICE Director Shawn Byers has stated that he is struggling to secure federal funds necessary to maintain video recordings of these incidents.

Earlier this month, Judge Ellis issued her order following a lawsuit brought forth by journalists, clergy members, and protesters. They have been vocal in their opposition to the tactics employed by ICE officers and CBP agents. Last week, Judge Ellis expressed her “profound concerns” that her order might be disregarded, noting that she is unable to monitor the situation closely. “I have a few concerns that the TRO isn’t being followed,” she remarked, highlighting the difficulty of seeing what unfolds inside the facility.

“I have a few concerns that the TRO isn’t being followed, what I can’t see what is happening on the inside,” Ellis said.

That led to Byers and Kyle Harvick, a Customs and Border Protection incident commander, being called into court Monday. Ellis, whom former President Barack Obama appointed, repeated her concerns that federal officers and agents were violating terms of the order, which was modified last week to require federal officers who wear body-worn cameras to have them on during enforcement operations.

Ellis approved a motion by attorneys representing protesters, clergy and journalists that other top officials, including Gregory Bovino, the Border Patrol’s commander-at-large, and Russell Hott, who had been serving as the acting director of the Chicago ICE field office, to sit for depositions regarding what is happening on the ground in Chicago and whether protesters are being specifically targeted for their views.

The judge ruled that attorneys will be able to depose Bovino and Hott for two hours each. A Nov. 5 hearing is scheduled to consider a preliminary injunction against federal officers and agents. Hott was scheduled to testify on Monday, but was reassigned to his previous post as the director of ICE’s Washington, D.C. field office.

Bovino and Hott will not be questioned about why the federal agencies are in Chicago, but instead about specific operations that have been ongoing since the start of September.

“I don’t think it matters what the (Trump) administration’s objective is,” Ellis said. “This lawsuit is all about how our ICE and CBP officers are enforcing the laws.”

She added: “It is not at all relevant whether the administration is seeking to enforce the immigration laws in Chicago versus Austin, Texas.”

Protesters clash with police in riot gear outside the ICE processing facility in Broadview, Illinois, on Friday, October 17, 2025.

Byers testified during a hearing in federal court Monday that he is having trouble preserving video evidence of violent clashes between federal officers and agents and protesters in Broadview, which is just outside of Chicago.

Ellis scolded federal officials during the hearing for not preserving video from the Broadview facility, where protesters have been arrested throughout Operation Midway Blitz, which began Sept. 8. Department of Homeland Security officials have announced that at least 1,500 people have been arrested since the multi-agency operation began.

Byers testified that at least 75 U.S. citizens have been arrested for obstructing federal officers and agents. The Broadview facility, which is being used as the main processing hub for Operation Midway Blitz, has remained under heavy scrutiny since the multi-agency immigration and crackdown began in the Chicago area.

Protests have included the deployment of tear gas, pepper spray and other non-lethal munitions, some of which have been directed at members of the clergy, including local Presbyterian minister David Black. Black told affiliate WGN that he was praying when he was struck several times by pepper balls, including in the head.

“I wonder about the training of these ICE agents, and I wonder about their intentions,” Black told WGN.

Byers testified Monday that video footage from the Broadview processing center is kept for 28 days. However, he told the judge that because there had not been specific directives to preserve the video, it may not have been kept. He said, despite a lack of a formal directive, he’s “trying to do that anyway,” but is struggling to obtain government funding.

Ellis told the Department of Justice attorney that if a preservation order had not been given, “it needs to happen.”

Los Angeles, CA – August 14: Gregory Bovino, Chief Patrol Agent of the El Centro Sector and Commander-Operation At Large CA (center), marches with federal agents to the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building after US Border Patrol agents produced a show of force outside the Japanese American National Museum where Gov. Newsom was holding a redistricting press conference on Thursday, Aug. 14, 2025 in Los Angeles, CA. (Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Byers, speaking to concerns over the restraining order being violated against journalists and clergy members, said as long as members of the working press remain in designated areas, there “should not be an issue.” He testified he does not believe any journalists have been targeted by federal officers.

However, he said clergy and other religious leaders are treated like “normal protesters” and testified that if clergy members do not follow orders, they would be placing themselves “at risk.”

Harvick testified that as many as 232 CBP agents have been assigned to Chicago during Operation Midway Blitz. He said that all of the agents working in Chicago have been trained in crowd-control measures and in adhering to the agency’s use of force guidelines.

Yet, after several incidents in Chicago neighborhoods and the ICE detention center in Broadview that included the deployment of tear gas, pepper balls and other non-lethal munitions, concerns arose over ICE’s tactics. That led Ellis to modify the original restraining order to require that federal officers and agents have body-worn cameras on during enforcement operations.

Ellis expressed her concerns after an incident on Chicago’s southeast side last week when federal officers deployed what appeared to be tear gas in response to local residents protesting the presence of federal officers and agents.

DHS officials said that agents were involved in a chase of a vehicle in which two immigrants who had entered the country illegally from Venezuela. DHS officials accused the driver of the car of ramming into federal agents, which led to the chase and arrest of the two men.

DHS officials also accused some protesters of throwing rocks at federal agents, which prompted the agents to deploy chemical agents into the crowd.

Harvick said on Monday that 40 new federal agents were scheduled to join the operations on Monday and that they would all receive the restraining order and sign a form indicating that they understand it. Harvick testified that he was not aware of any officers or agents who had been disciplined for use-of-force violations during either the Chicago or Los Angeles enforcement operations.

Byers testified Monday that ICE officers who have been assigned to Chicago as part of Operation Midway Blitz do not wear body-worn cameras as part of their operational duties. He said that officials within the Biden administration pushed for the use of body-worn cameras, but that the measure would need to be re-approved by current members of Congress.