Border Patrol chief – ReportWire

Chicago judge hears challenge to federal agents’ use of force, ruling expected ahead of TRO expiring

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CHICAGO (WLS) — A federal judge listened to arguments Wednesday for possibly extending restrictions on federal agents working in Chicago as part of Operation Midway Blitz.

There was testimony from protesters, elected officials and media members accusing federal agents of violating their constitutional rights with repeated use of force. The government continues to dispute that, saying agents have only targeted rioters and not peaceful protesters.

The judge said a ruling will be issued Thursday morning.

ABC7 Chicago is now streaming 24/7. Click here to watch

Wednesday’s preliminary injunction hearing was the culmination of a month-long court battle that began after several media organizations filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security over federal agents use of force tactics against protesters and journalists.

Since then, U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis imposed a temporary restraining order that limits how and when agents can deploy chemical agents can be used. That TRO, which has, according to plaintiffs been violated countless times, including by CBP Commander Gregory Bovino himself, expires Thursday.

Attorneys representing journalists, clergymen and demonstrators who say they’ve been harmed by federal immigration agents during protests and operations were expected to show images and videos of confrontations with agents and also call on witnesses in court.

Judge Ellis’ temporary restraining order restricts federal agents from using “riot control weapons” against journalists, protestors and religious practitioners without first issuing warnings unless necessary to stop an immediate threat.

Plaintiffs argued the incidents shown in court to the judge violate the judge’s order.

Government lawyers said agents have a right to protect themselves while DHS says agents have been harassed and followed by what they call violent protestors.

Bovino was not in court Wednesday as attorneys allege overnight he lied under oath about an incident last month, where he is seen lobbing tear gas at Little Village protestors during a confrontation with agents amid immigration operations.

DHS argued a rock was thrown at Bovino and struck him in the head, but plaintiffs argue they have not found footage showing a rock striking Bovino.

Through a recorded deposition taken last week, Bovino insisted that all uses of force so far have been perpetrated not on peaceful protesters but on what he calls violent rioters.

Bovino said at one point, “I believe that all uses of force that I have seen and all arrests that I have seen have been more than exemplary.”

Bovino’s comments were contradicted by the testimony of nine witnesses called by plaintiffs: elected officials, media representatives and everyday people describing their interactions with federal agents during protests that have broken out, not just outside ICE’s Broadview facility but also in neighborhoods across the city during the aftermath of immigration enforcement activities. Some detailing how they had weapons pointed at them simply for recording what they saw. Others recounting their experiences being tear gassed or shot with pepper bullets. Significant amounts of surveillance and cell phone video backing these testimonies up were also presented in court.

The disconnect between both sides could not be more stark, as a Border Patrol supervisor said on the stand he does not consider tear gas dangerous.

A ruling from Judge Ellis is expected Thursday morning. She could also decide to just extend the TRO as she mulls over a final ruling.

Thursday’s ruling is expected at 10 a.m., which is before the TRO is set to expire at 11:30 a.m.

Before court, anti-ICE demonstrators gathered outside of the Dirksen Federal Courthouse ahead of Wednesday morning’s hearing, calling out Bovino and his alleged actions through Operation Midway Blitz.

They held signs, chanted and held a mock-trial for Bovino.

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Christian Piekos

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November 5, 2025

DHS Secretary Noem rejects Gov. Pritzker’s calls for pause in immigration operations over Halloween

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CHICAGO (WLS) — Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem visited northwest Indiana Thursday, as Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker calls on DHS to pause immigration arrests over Halloween weekend.

ABC7 Chicago is now streaming 24/7. Click here to watch

On Wednesday night, Pritzker sent a letter to Noem, requesting a pause in ICE enforcement this weekend in and around homes, schools, hospitals, parks and places of worship, so children can safely celebrate Halloween.

The governor referenced an incident in his letter this past weekend in Old Irving Park – in which he says, federal agents reportedly interrupted a children’s Halloween parade and deployed tear gas without warning on residents peacefully celebrating the holiday.

“Illinois families deserve to spend Halloween weekend without fear. No child should be forced to inhale tear gas or other chemical agents while trick or treating in their own neighborhood,” Governor Pritzker wrote. “Illinois children should not be robbed of their innocence. Let them enjoy a time-honored American tradition safely and peacefully. Please let children be children for one holiday, free from intimidation and fear.”

Speaking in Gary, Indiana, Noem rejected Governor Pritzker’s request.

“The fact that Governor Pritzker is asking for that is shameful and I think unfortunate that he doesn’t recognize how important the work is that we do to make sure that we are bringing criminals to justice and bringing them off our streets,” Noem said.

In response to Governor Pritzker, Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin: said in a statement, “Once again Governor Pritzker is going out of his way to smear the law enforcement officers of DHS, who are attempting to clean up the rampant crime he facilitated

“He is pushing a false narrative that DHS is targeting schools, hospitals, and churches. This is false, he knows this, but he continues to push these lies.

“Our officers are facing mass assaults, vehicles used as weapons, violence and only use crowd control methods as a last resort when repeated warnings have been given.

“Those who are here legally and are not breaking other laws have nothing to fear. Elected officials choosing to fearmonger by distorting reality are doing a great disservice to our country and are responsible for the nearly 1,000% increase in assaults and 8,000% increase in violent threats against ICE officers.”

in Gary, Noem spoke about immigrants in the United States illegally getting commercial driver’s licenses.

“Putting these foreigners in tractor trailers like the ones you see behind me becomes extremely dangerous,” Noem said. “Putting them behind the wheel of these tractor trailers weighing tens of thousands of pounds loaded with explosive fuel down the highway endangers every single citizens that is on our roads.”

Noem gave update on recent immigration enforcement dubbed “Operation Midway Blitz,” which Border Patrol Cmdr. Greg Bovino called “wildly successful” in an interview with ABC News earlier this week.

Noem was joined by Indiana Gov. Mike Braun in Gary along with Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and acting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Todd Lyons, among others.

The Family-Separation Files

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The Atlantic is publishing a collection of key internal government documents related to the Trump administration’s family-separation policy, known as Zero Tolerance. The records informed the reporting of my cover story on how it came to be and who was responsible. Our hope is to introduce greater transparency around a policy that gravely harmed thousands of families and whose development and intent were concealed from the public for years. During the Trump administration, more than 5,000 migrant children were taken from their parents as part of a dubious and ineffectual strategy to deter migration across the southern border. Hundreds remain separated today.

These records showcase, among other things, government officials’ attempts to mislead the public; inconsistent and sometimes nonexistent record keeping, which to this day means that a full accounting of separations does not exist; efforts to extend the length of time that children and parents were kept apart; and early and repeated internal warnings about the policy’s worst outcomes, which were ignored.

As you will see, some of the records are marked “pre-decisional,” “deliberative,” or “attorney-client privileged” in an attempt to exempt them from federal disclosure requirements and ensure they would never become public. The Atlantic obtained them only through extensive litigation.

The Atlantic’s records, combined with others secured by the House Judiciary Committee, the progressive nonprofit group American Oversight, and separated families themselves, have been organized and tagged for future use. The collection is far from complete, and many of the documents still contain redactions. However, we hope that this database will prove a useful tool for those engaged in research and documentation of family separations, and that the body of publicly available information will continue to grow.

In the spring of 2017, Jeff Self, the Border Patrol chief in the El Paso Sector, which includes New Mexico and parts of Texas, quietly launched a regional program to start referring migrant parents traveling with children for prosecution, which would require those families to be separated. This strained resources throughout the immigration system, including at the Department of Health and Human Services, which took custody of the children. Federal officials would later call the program a “pilot” and use it as a model for expanding the practice nationwide. Some early separations also occurred in Yuma, Arizona, under a separate initiative.

Family Separation Directive for Texas Border Patrol stations in the El Paso Sector*

Family Separation Directive for New Mexico Border Patrol stations in the El Paso Sector*

Department of Health and Human Services official: “They are discovering more separations that were not reported.”

HHS officials contact Immigration and Customs Enforcement seeking help locating the parents of detained separated children.

HHS official reports that the Department of Homeland Security “is working on a family separation policy again.”

El Paso Sector “After Action Report” summarizing the results of separations that occurred there in 2017

Jonathan White, head of the HHS program housing children, reports, “We had a shortage last night of beds for babies.”

HHS officials report, “We suspect that there are other [unaccompanied children] being separated from parents.”

Border Patrol official Gloria Chavez tells the acting agency chief Carla Provost that the El Paso Sector has been separating families for more than four months. Provost calls for separations to stop.

Provost: “This has been ongoing since July without our knowledge … It has not blown up in the media as of yet but of course has the potential to.”

Border Patrol official Scott Luck asks colleagues Chavez and Hull, “Why are we just hearing about it?”

A DHS official requests a Border Patrol report on initial separations in El Paso to present to Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen.

The acting deputy chief of the Border Patrol’s El Paso Sector tells Chavez, inaccurately, that family separations there lasted only two to seven days, and suggests, despite evidence to the contrary, that many people presenting themselves as families at the border were in fact unrelated.

At a February 14, 2017, interagency meeting, immigration-enforcement officials presented a nationwide plan to separate families as an immigration deterrent. Afterward, officials at the Department of Health and Human Services—the agency that would be charged with caring for separated children—pushed back against the plan while scrambling to prepare. The plan was also leaked to the media, after which Homeland Security officials began to assert publicly that the idea had been abandoned. In reality, during and after regional separation programs were implemented in Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico, the nationwide plan was still being pushed aggressively by leaders of the immigrant-enforcement agencies, as well as by Stephen Miller, President Donald Trump’s chief immigration adviser, and Gene Hamilton, a confidant of Miller’s who worked at DHS and the Department of Justice.

Invitation to the February 14, 2017, meeting

HHS official Jonathan White’s internal summary of proposals discussed at the February meeting

HHS official: “DHS stressed” in a meeting that the “overall intent of the actions is to serve as a deterrent.”

White asks enforcement officials for more information about plans to separate families.

List of attempts by White to inquire and raise red flags about plans to separate families

HHS March 2017 report: Children who would be separated “tend to skew heavily toward tender aged”; separations “could be considered a human rights abuse,” cause “a myriad of international legal issues,” and “increase the risk of human trafficking.”

HHS official: DHS is “looking to expand” family separations despite a complaint filed with the inspector general. (Original complaint here.)

In an internal memo, federal officials describe family separation as a “short term” solution to be implemented in the “next 30 days.”**

December 2017 correspondence between DHS officials: “Announce that DHS will begin separating family units.”

December 2017 DHS policy proposal: “Parental Choice of Detention or Separation”

Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin McAleenan plans to formally recommend family separation: “I do believe that this approach would have the greatest impact.”

Zero Tolerance memo signed by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen

DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen’s follow-up Zero Tolerance memo with additional instructions

El Paso Sector initial implementation guidance

El Centro Sector implementation guidance

Del Rio Sector implementation guidance

Scott Lloyd of Health and Human Services asks McAleenan and Acting ICE Director Tom Homan for a meeting to discuss the implications of Zero Tolerance.

Border Patrol officials warn of “repercussions” for prosecutors who declined to participate in separations.

The Justice Department’s Gene Hamilton touts a dramatic increase in prosecutions under Zero Tolerance.

“A lot of parent separation cases” are “missing information,” an HHS official reports.

HHS officials note inconsistent documentation and tracking issues.

An HHS official reports, “There are a bunch of tender age girls” stuck in Border Patrol stations; “this is caused by the policy decision to separate kids from their families as a deterrent.”

A magistrate judge in Tucson, Arizona, inquires about separation and reunification processes.

After a Brownsville, Texas, magistrate demands a list of separated families and their locations, a Border Patrol agent jokes, “I might be spending some time in the slammer.”

Yuma Border Patrol Sector reports: Resources are strained by “meal preparation, and feeding” detained families.

Amended Big Bend Sector guidance

Orders to halt separations following President Trump’s executive order reversing course on Zero Tolerance in response to public outcry

A Customs and Border Protection official notes failures to properly document separations of 0-to-4-year-old children.

Though a full accounting of the family separations that took place during the Trump administration does not exist, these internal government charts offer some insight into the nature of those that were recorded. For example, Homeland Security officials have often suggested that some of the individuals separated under Zero Tolerance were actually “false families,” or that separated parents were guilty of more serious crimes beyond the misdemeanor of illegally crossing the border, to justify taking their children away. But the first chart in this list makes clear that 2,146 of 2,256 separated parents who were referred for prosecution between May 5 and June 20, 2018, were charged only with the misdemeanor. During the same period, 137 parents were charged with the felony of having crossed the border illegally more than once, while only two were presented with “other charges.” The second chart notes that over those weeks, at least 251 children younger than 6 were separated from their parents, along with 1,370 children ages 6 to 12, and 1,272 ages 13 to 17.

Zero Tolerance Separation datasets May 5-June 20, 2018

Internal Border Patrol “Prosecution Initiative Update” charts from July 1 to July 7, 2018

Undated list of reasons for some separations

Below is a small sampling of instances when government officials, members of congress, reporters and community groups sought information about a noticeable rise in family separations. Despite these inquiries, for more than a year, Department of Homeland Security officials denied that the agency’s treatment of families had changed, suggesting that business was proceeding as usual and that families were not being separated any more than in the past.

“The El Paso Federal Defender’s Office has registered an increase in the separation of children and parents,” an immigrant advocacy group wrote to Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials ahead of an August 2017 meeting. “What is the current policy on family separation?”

Border Patrol officials scramble to respond after a meeting with Representative Beto O’Rourke’s office, in which family separations were inadvertently disclosed.

Months into the El Paso Sector separation initiative, Border Patrol official Aaron Hull tells the ICE official Phil Miller, “We don’t like to separate families.”

Houston Chronicle reporter Lomi Kriel asking whether the Border Patrol’s policy on family separations had changed, and receiving unclear answers in response. (Kriel’s article here)

Jonathan White of the Department of Health and Human Services asks Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin McAleenan and Acting ICE Director Tom Homan why his agency is receiving larger numbers of separated children than in the past. Homan does not respond. McAleenan does not disclose that separations have been underway to White.

A communications official at DHS seeks guidance on how to respond to inquiries from the media and immigrant advocacy groups.

DHS official to reporters: “We ask that members of the public and media view advocacy group claims that we are separating women and children for reasons other than to protect the child with the level of skepticism they deserve.”

In response to another inquiry, HHS officials decline to respond, and then confirm that more than 700 children have in fact been separated.

In internal emails, DHS officials push back against the story about 700 separated children, claiming inaccurately that “the actual number is much lower.”

Quarterly meeting agenda: “There are reports of family separation cases at the border.”

A report on an investigation into complaints of family separations cites “inconsistency,” “inadequate protocols,” and “lack of collaboration.” It recommends the creation of an interagency working group, a “Family-Member Locator System,” and other tools to prevent prolonged separations and to ensure that families are eventually reunified.

A summary of an investigation into 950 complaints about family separations anticipates “permanent family separation” and “new populations of US orphans.”

CRCL staff seeks information about the “enormous volume of matters alleging inappropriate family separations.”

Cameron Quinn, the head of CRCL, emails Customs and Border Protection Commissioner McAleenan to raise concerns about reports of family separations.

Quinn tells McAleenan that CRCL has received “over 100 recent allegations of separations.”

CRCL staff notes the Border Patrol’s failure to document some separations.

Quinn forwards allegations of coercion and abuse of separated parents to McAleenan and Acting ICE Director Ron Vitiello. (Original complaint found here)

An Immigration and Customs Enforcement official named Matt Albence insists that the “expectation is that we are NOT to reunite the families” and proposes ways to avoid such reunifications, such as moving children away from the border faster.

“We can’t have this,” Albence writes about reunifications.

Albence and other ICE and Border Patrol officials lament that some families have been reunified, calling it “a fiasco” and “not the consequence we had in mind,” which “obviously undermines the entire effort.”

Reunifications, Albence insists, are not “going to happen unless we are directed by the Dept to do so.”

Reports that reunification forms were given to parents in languages they did not understand

Correspondence on harried reunification efforts

An employee at a company contracted to care for separated children tells colleagues, “ICE will be stopping all reunifications … due to limited bed space.”

In the federal lawsuit Ms. L. v. ICE, lawyers representing the federal government turned over the most complete list of family separations that exists. The ACLU shared that database with The Atlantic after redacting details such as names and dates of birth, which could be used to identify individual parents or children who were affected by the separation policy.

Here, documents are organized into collections based on key criteria, such as year, location, federal agency, and the key players involved.

Congressional Reports

House Oversight Committee: Child Separations by the Trump Administration

House Judiciary Committee: The Trump Administration’s Family Separation Policy: Trauma, Destruction, and Chaos

Inspector General Reports

*The government supplied numerous copies of this directive with various portions redacted. The least redacted version has been excerpted here from the Border Patrol’s “After Action Report,” which summarized the results of the separations that occurred in the El Paso Sector in 2017.

**This memo was originally obtained by the office of Senator Jeff Merkley.

Note: The government occasionally supplied The Atlantic with multiple versions of the same email chain or report, and redacted different portions of each. Such documents have been combined in order to show all unredacted material.

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Caitlin Dickerson

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December 31, 2022

Tag: Border Patrol chief

Chicago judge hears challenge to federal agents’ use of force, ruling expected ahead of TRO expiring

ABC7 Chicago is now streaming 24/7. Click here to watch

DHS Secretary Noem rejects Gov. Pritzker’s calls for pause in immigration operations over Halloween

ABC7 Chicago is now streaming 24/7. Click here to watch

SEE ALSO: Court pauses order requiring CBP Chief Bovino to meet with judge daily on immigration operations

The Family-Separation Files

Congressional Reports

Inspector General Reports

Department of Justice

Department of Health and Human Services

Department of Homeland Security and Components