Border Patrol's strong-arm tactics are the new norm in Chicago as Trump moves to sideline ICE leadership

[Jilly_in_VA]

Cameras rolling, Border Patrol chief Gregory Bovino sailed down the Chicago River in a convoy of government boats. His men held rifles as videographers filmed the stunt later posted to their social media.

The Trump administration had just launched an operation in the city to pursue “the worst of the worst” criminal undocumented immigrants. Homeland Security used the footage for a music video set to Alice in Chains’ “Rooster” ending with Bovino smiling into the distance.

In Chicago, the Sept. 25 moment was widely mocked. Would the federal government be hunting migrants at Navy Pier? Boarding boat tours to find undocumented architecture enthusiasts? Patrolling the Riverwalk?

But more than a month after Bovino and the crew of camouflaged agents he calls the “green machine” arrived in Chicago to assist Trump’s immigration crackdown dubbed Operation Midway Blitz, the scene signaled a profound shift in how the federal government arrests undocumented immigrants far from the border.

Instead of carefully targeted arrests long practiced by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, President Donald Trump’s administration has deployed roving groups of masked Border Patrol agents, who work within U.S. Customs and Border Protection. These agents have roamed throughout Chicago and its suburbs with the mission of arresting as many undocumented immigrants as possible, often while camera operators film for future government promotional videos.

Allegations have mounted that Border Patrol agents under Bovino’s command are indiscriminately throwing tear gas in Chicago neighborhoods and using inappropriate force against residents during protests over the Trump administration’s ongoing immigration enforcement push, leading to a federal judge requesting Bovino to debrief her daily on his agents’ actions.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/02/border-patrol-chicago-trump-ice/

Gestapo tactics, coming soon to a city near you!

[Irish_Dem]

1. Immigration reform could have been done in a civilized, professional, humane manner.

[Jilly_in_VA]

3. BUT

Shitler is neither civilized nor professional and neither are MAGA RepubliKKKans.

[quakerboy]

2. its all a front

Immigrants are a handy rally cry and training material to inoculate ice forces against any incipient swelling of humanity that might occur.

This force is being built and aimed at citizens. It will be here to deal with voters and anyone who doesn't fall in with the dictator.