CHICAGO, IL – A Border Patrol official credited with being the architect of the immigration raids in Los Angeles reportedly touched down in Chicago earlier in September, marking the first steps toward the immigration enforcement operations that elected officials within Illinois have been preemptively condemning.
Gregory Bovino, who previously served in the Border Patrol as California's El Centro Sector’s Chief Patrol Agent, was the man tapped to lead the statewide immigration enforcement efforts across California this past summer, and Bovino has since made his way to the Windy City in Illinois, according to reports.
CBS News described Bovino as one of the current administration’s “most visible public faces” pertaining to President Donald Trump’s promise to crack down on illegal immigration across the country, paying particular attention to sanctuary cities and states the administration has accused of hindering effective immigration enforcement operations.
As previously reported in Law Enforcement Today, Chicago Democratic Mayor Brandon Johnson has already publicly denounced any sort of targeted immigration enforcement operations slated to take place within the city back in late August, issuing a formal order to local law enforcement to not assist Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in any capacity upon their arrival.
In an August 30th press conference relating to the matter, Mayor Johnson stated, “We have received credible reports that we have days, not weeks, before our city sees some type of militarized activity by the federal government. It is unclear at this time what that will look like exactly.”
Bovino foreshadowed his Chicago arrival back on September 2nd, saying at the time that the Los Angeles-style operations he’s leading will be “taking the show on the road,” hinting the venue change would involve “trading palm trees for skyscrapers.” The Chicago-based immigration enforcement effort has since been dubbed Operation Midway Blitz, which Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said the operation was launched in honor of 20-year-old Katie Abraham, who was killed by a previously deported illegal alien in a DUI crash earlier this year in Illinois.
Assistant Secretary McLaughlin emphasized that Abraham’s killer was living in Illinois because of the sanctuary policies brought into existence by Governor J.B. Pritzker, calling Chicago a “magnet for criminals” as a result. Citing the Trump administration’s agenda on illegal immigration, Assistant Secretary McLaughlin added, “No city is a safe haven for criminal illegal aliens. If you come to our country illegally and break our laws, we will hunt you down, arrest you, deport you, and you will never return.”
Homeland Security issued a press release on September 8th detailing a “worst of the worst” list of criminal illegal aliens who’ve been released back into the community by local law enforcement in Illinois due to adherence to policies forbidding the honoring of ICE detainers.
Gregory Bovino, who previously served in the Border Patrol as California's El Centro Sector’s Chief Patrol Agent, was the man tapped to lead the statewide immigration enforcement efforts across California this past summer, and Bovino has since made his way to the Windy City in Illinois, according to reports.
CBS News described Bovino as one of the current administration’s “most visible public faces” pertaining to President Donald Trump’s promise to crack down on illegal immigration across the country, paying particular attention to sanctuary cities and states the administration has accused of hindering effective immigration enforcement operations.
As previously reported in Law Enforcement Today, Chicago Democratic Mayor Brandon Johnson has already publicly denounced any sort of targeted immigration enforcement operations slated to take place within the city back in late August, issuing a formal order to local law enforcement to not assist Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in any capacity upon their arrival.
In an August 30th press conference relating to the matter, Mayor Johnson stated, “We have received credible reports that we have days, not weeks, before our city sees some type of militarized activity by the federal government. It is unclear at this time what that will look like exactly.”
Bovino foreshadowed his Chicago arrival back on September 2nd, saying at the time that the Los Angeles-style operations he’s leading will be “taking the show on the road,” hinting the venue change would involve “trading palm trees for skyscrapers.” The Chicago-based immigration enforcement effort has since been dubbed Operation Midway Blitz, which Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said the operation was launched in honor of 20-year-old Katie Abraham, who was killed by a previously deported illegal alien in a DUI crash earlier this year in Illinois.
Assistant Secretary McLaughlin emphasized that Abraham’s killer was living in Illinois because of the sanctuary policies brought into existence by Governor J.B. Pritzker, calling Chicago a “magnet for criminals” as a result. Citing the Trump administration’s agenda on illegal immigration, Assistant Secretary McLaughlin added, “No city is a safe haven for criminal illegal aliens. If you come to our country illegally and break our laws, we will hunt you down, arrest you, deport you, and you will never return.”
Homeland Security issued a press release on September 8th detailing a “worst of the worst” list of criminal illegal aliens who’ve been released back into the community by local law enforcement in Illinois due to adherence to policies forbidding the honoring of ICE detainers.
For corrections or revisions, click here.
The opinions reflected in this article are not necessarily the opinions of LET
Comments
2025-09-15T18:45-0400 | Comment by: James
GREAT! I am ready for it! The citizens of Chicago deserve this!!!