Border Patrol under fire for allegedly disrupting Chicago children's Halloween parade
Border Patrol under fire for allegedly disrupting Chicago children's Halloween parade
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Border Patrol under fire for allegedly disrupting Chicago children's Halloween parade

Bill Hutchinson 🕒︎ 2025-11-03

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Border Patrol under fire for allegedly disrupting Chicago children's Halloween parade

The U.S. Border Patrol is coming under criticism from Chicago residents who claim federal agents disrupted a children's Halloween parade over the weekend, allegedly with aggressive tactics and tear gas during an immigration enforcement incident. The latest clash between federal agents and residents came as Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino, who is leading the "Operation Midway Blitz" immigration enforcement in Chicago, is scheduled to appear before a federal judge on Tuesday. Judge Sara Ellis of the U.S. District Court for the Northern Illinois has ordered Bovino to appear before her following allegations that he had personally deployed tear gas on a crowd of demonstrators "without justification" last week, according to court filings in a lawsuit against the federal government. Ellis indicated in a hearing earlier this month that she was “profoundly concerned” over the tactics used by federal agents in a series of clashes with protesters. She issued a temporary restraining order on Oct. 9, restricting federal agents from using aggressive tactics to quell protests, including the deployment of tear gas without advanced warning. On Oct. 16, Ellis expanded her order to include a requirement for federal agents equipped with body-worn cameras to wear them and keep them on during "law enforcement activities" in Chicago. On Saturday, Border Patrol agents converged on the Old Irving Park neighborhood on the city's Northwest Side to conduct an immigration enforcement raid. Neighborhood residents claimed the agents interrupted a children's Halloween parade and allegedly deployed tear gas without warning on residents trying to intervene. Video footage that was verified by ABC News showed agents deploying tear gas and tackling and arresting several people, including U.S. citizens, outside homes decked out in Halloween decorations. In one video confirmed by ABC News, resident Carlos Rodriguez is heard yelling at agents, "You're scaring our children to death." "Unbelievable. Never thought this would happen in my neighborhood -- scaring our children to death, thinking this is a cool thing to do," Rodriguez said in the video. Residents said the Border Patrol activity forced them to relocate the Halloween parade to a nearby school. Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, said in a statement to ABC News that agents "had to deploy crowd control measures" to protect themselves from a hostile crowd. McLaughlin said agents were conducting an operation that resulted in the arrest of a "criminal illegal alien from Mexico, who has previously been arrested for assault." "During the operations, Border Patrol agents were surrounded by a group of agitators. Federal law enforcement issued multiple lawful commands and verbal warnings, all of which were ignored," McLaughlin said. McLaughlin added, "During the operation, two U.S. citizens were arrested for assaulting and impeding a federal officer. To safely clear the area after multiple warnings and the crowd continuing to advance on them, Border Patrol had to deploy crowd control measures." Construction worker Luis Villegas was identified by his family and a resident of the neighborhood as being among those arrested in Saturday's Border Patrol enforcement in Old Irving Park. Villegas's family told ABC station WLS in Chicago that the 35-year-old Villegas has lived in the Chicago area since the age of 4 after coming from Mexico. It's unclear if Villegas is the same man federal agents were targeting in the Old Irving Park incident. The relatives said that at the time of his arrest, Villegas was doing landscaping work at a home in the area. Witnesses told WLS that when they tried to intervene, the agents deployed tear gas. City officials condemned the operation in Old Irving Park, saying its lawyers are challenging the agents' actions in court. Illinois State Rep. Lindsey LaPointe posted a statement on social media following the incident, blasting the actions by federal agents as "harmful, traumatic, illegal and uncalled for." "Many of us are appalled, horrified and angered by these federal actions," said LaPointe, adding that she arrived at the scene after the federal agents left and the tear gas had dissipated. "But many of us are also heartened that neighbors care and are coming together -- showing up for each other, sharing information and making it clear that none of this is okay and none of this is normal." Ahead of his appearance before Judge Ellis on Tuesday, Bovino in an interview with ABC News defended the actions of Border Patrol agents in Chicago. Asked by ABC News if there are any areas his agency considers off-limits for enforcement, Bovino said, "There are no sanctuaries in Chicago or anywhere else in the United States." Bovino said that since "Operation Midway Blitz" started in Chicago on Sept. 6, more than 2,800 apprehensions have been made in the area. On Thursday, the plaintiffs in a lawsuit Ellis is presiding over submitted a notice of an alleged violation of the judge's temporary restraining order that included a video they contend shows Bovino tossing a tear-gas canister "without justification" toward a crowd of protesters this week in Chicago's Little Village neighborhood." McLaughlin said Bovino deployed "riot control measures" after "rioters" threw rocks and other objects at him and other Border Patrol agents conducting immigration enforcement operations. McLaughlin said Bovino was struck in the head during the incident but not seriously injured. "Agents properly used their training," McLaughlin said. "The use of chemical munitions was conducted in full accordance with CBP policy and was necessary to ensure the safety of both law enforcement and the public." In a court filing on Sunday, the plaintiffs accused DHS of lying about the incident. "[T]he government is perpetrating extreme violence against peaceful and innocent American civilians in order to provoke a reaction that the government then uses as an after-the-fact justification for the violence it has already used,” the plaintiffs’ filing states. Asked by ABC News about the tear-gas-throwing incident, Bovino said, "I'll go ahead and let those facts come out in the court hearing. So, I would stay tuned there to that, and we'll get those questions answered promptly there." Bovino added, "But anytime we have violent riots, violent mobs, we're going to ensure that individuals in those mobs and our agents are coming home at the end of the shift, and that's what happened." ABC News' James Hill, Stephanie Ramos, Jason Volack, Gabrielle Vinick and Luke Barr contributed to this report.

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