An appeals court intervened Wednesday, abruptly blocking an order requiring Border Patrol officials to give unprecedented daily briefings to a judge about migrant sweeps in Chicago.
The one-page suspension by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit was announced before Greg Bovino’s first scheduled late-afternoon meeting with U.S. District Judge Sarah Ellis in a downtown Chicago courthouse.
Mr. Ellis ordered the talks on Tuesday after weeks of tense confrontations and increasingly aggressive tactics by government officials working on Operation Midway Blitz. It has led to more than 1,800 arrests and excessive force charges.
Bovino told Fox News he was eager to speak with Ellis. However, government lawyers were simultaneously appealing her decision. Lawyers for media outlets and activists argue that the operatives used too much force, including tear gas, and have until 5pm on Thursday to respond to the appeals court.
Ellis’ order followed an enforcement action on the city’s Northwest Side over the weekend in which tear gas was used in areas where children had gathered for a Halloween parade and other areas. Neighbors also took to the streets because someone was arrested.
“Halloween is on Friday,” she said. “We don’t want to receive violation reports from plaintiffs that indicate staff were out on Halloween, children were present, and tear gas was used.”
Bovino defended the investigators’ actions.
“If she wants to see me every day, she’s going to get a first-hand look at how bad things really are on the streets of Chicago,” Bovino told Fox News. “I look forward to meeting with the judge and showing them exactly what is going on here and the extreme violence that is being perpetrated against law enforcement.”
Meanwhile, prosecutors have indicted Democratic House candidate Kat Abu-Ghazaleh and five others over a protest at the Immigration Enforcement Building in the Chicago suburb of Broadview. The indictment unsealed Wednesday alleges that on Sept. 26, he unlawfully interfered with an investigator’s vehicle.
Abu Ghazaleh said the prosecution was an “attempt to silence dissent.”
The Chicago lawsuit comes as groups and authorities across the country are filing lawsuits aimed at limiting the federal government’s deployment of the National Guard.
A U.S. Supreme Court order Wednesday will block President Trump’s administration from deploying troops to the Chicago area until at least late November, after the U.S. Supreme Court ordered officials to submit additional legal briefs.
The justices said they would not take action until Nov. 17 on the administration’s emergency appeal to overturn a lower court ruling that blocked the troop deployment.
In Portland, Oregon, a federal trial seeking to block the deployment of troops began Wednesday morning, with a police commander on the witness stand describing how federal agents at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building repeatedly fired tear gas at nonviolent protesters.
Ellis said Bovino, who heads the Border Patrol in El Centro, Calif., was scheduled to attend a daily 5:45 p.m. news conference in Chicago to report on how his agents are enforcing the law and staying within the Constitution. The check-in was scheduled to continue until a public hearing on Nov. 5.
Mr. Ellis also requested that Bovino produce all use-of-force reports since September 2 from agents involved in Operation Midway Blitz.
The judge expressed confidence Tuesday that the check-in will prevent excessive use of force in Chicago neighborhoods.
Ellis previously ordered staff to wear badges and prohibited them from using certain riot-control techniques against peaceful protesters and journalists. Later, she was asked to wear a body camera after the use of tear gas raised concerns that investigators would not comply with initial orders.
Ellis set a Friday deadline for Bovino to obtain a camera and complete training.
Government lawyers have repeatedly defended the actions of officials, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, telling the judge that videos and other depictions of enforcement operations were one-sided.
In addition to appearing in court, Bovino must also attend Thursday’s videotaped deposition, a private meeting with attorneys for both sides.
Fernando writes for The Associated Press.
