A day after Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino returned to the Chicagoland area, local officials and organizers continued to report more sightings of federal agents and abductions of community members.
Around 11:00 a.m., according to a North Side rapid response team, community members saw “ICE vehicles” on Lake Shore Drive “that temporarily stopped at the Sheridan exit.”
Just after 11:30 a.m. today, Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss confirmed federal agent activity in his north suburb and in Rogers Park, a Chicago neighborhood on its southern border.
“Please be alert, be safe, and call 855-435-7693 to report ICE activity or request assistance,” Biss wrote in a Facebook post.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Bovino led a caravan of SUVs with out-of-state license plates across Chicago and its suburbs
In a Facebook video posted just before 1:00 p.m., Biss, a Democrat running for a U.S House seat, spoke about confronting Bovino today at a gas station off Green Bay Road. He said a bunch of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Patrol agents (CBP) were at the Mobil gas station.
Bovino, he said, “threatened us, said he’s going to continue the enforcement.”
“Of course what he said was he’s keeping us safe from violence but what we know is that the violence is being perpetrated by federal agents,” Biss continued. “They had a conversation with our police chief. It sounds like they plan to be here throughout the rest of the day.
Unraveled Press also reported a video of Biss in a standoff with Customs and Border Patrol agents in a Home Depot parking lot. Community members were present, blowing whistles and yelling at agents.
Between 9:30 a.m. and 9:45 a.m., rapid response teams in west suburban Cicero reported multiple federal agents and at least one person detained at Home Depot.
And community members are coming together today to support street vendor Don Federico, a man in his 60s who was detained Tuesday in the Back of the Yards neighborhood while selling tamales around 47th Street and Hermitage Avenue, according to the Street Vendors Association of Chicago. Today, the group is selling Federico’s tamales at the intersection.
“If you’re able, please come out and support by purchasing a tamale from us or any vendor you might see on your way to work!” Street Vendors Association of Chicago wrote on Instagram. “If you can’t attend, please consider donating to his GoFundMe and supporting our Vendor Relief Fund to help vendors during these times.”
On Tuesday, Gov. JB Pritzker confirmed Bovino’s presence in Chicago. He said his team hadn’t received any notice that CBP would be returning to the city.
Pritzker also said he’s unsure how long Bovino and his agents will be in the area.
