Border Patrol Official Who Led LA Immigration Operation Arrives in Chicago

The Border Patrol official who spearheaded immigration enforcement in Los Angeles in June has arrived in Chicago, signaling an increase in operations targeting illegal immigrants in the Windy City.

Gregory Bovino, the Border Patrol commander of Operation At Large, posted a short clip on social media showing Chicago street signs along with Customs and Border Protection vehicles on Sept. 16.

“Well, Chicago, we’ve arrived! Operation At Large is here to continue the mission we started in Los Angeles—to make the city safer by targeting and arresting criminal illegal aliens,” he stated on X.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) launched a new immigration enforcement operation in Chicago on Sept. 8.

The operation, dubbed Operation Midway Blitz, was launched in honor of Katie Abraham, who was killed in a drunk driving hit-and-run involving an illegal immigrant in Illinois, according to the agency.

DHS said the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation will target “criminal illegal aliens who flocked to Chicago and Illinois,” where sanctuary policies limit cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities.

Speaking to reporters on Sept. 16, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker noted that ICE agents have increased their presence in and around Chicago. The governor has previously voiced his opposition to federal immigration operations.

“ICE has been gathering its agents. It has taken them longer than I think they anticipated,” he said. “I expect that this will continue. I expect that they now have more people on the ground and will effectuate their plans to an even greater degree.”

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who is also in Chicago, posted a video on X showing agents escorting people in handcuffs into a vehicle.

“President [Donald] Trump has been clear: if politicians will not put the safety of their citizens first, this administration will. I was on the ground in Chicago today to make clear we are not backing down,” she stated.

Noem noted that federal agents have arrested “violent offenders” on charges including assault, driving under the influence, and felony stalking during the operation.

“Our work is only beginning,” she said.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson signed an executive order on Sept. 16 aimed at protecting the right to protest in the city.

He stated that the order would allow the local police department to work with protest organizers to establish “a mutually acceptable alternative plan” in the event that federal law enforcement interferes with “lawful protest activity.”

“This executive action is about being proactive so that we are prepared for any possible large-scale demonstration in response to the increasingly reckless federal government,” Johnson said in a statement.

The immigration operation in Los Angeles, launched on June 6, led to thousands of arrests and triggered protests that prompted the deployment of National Guard troops to protect federal buildings and personnel in the city.