The Little Village community took the streets Wednesday night to protest the latest bout of heightened Border Patrol activity in the Chicagoland area. At least 12 people were detained throughout the day, according to a rapid response group.
Community members decried local police in Chicago and suburban Evanston; both departments were accused of assisting Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino and his Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents in their surprise immigration operations.
“Chicago and Evanston police suppressed migra watch efforts and cleared roads so CBP could conduct their kidnapping operations with as little resistance as possible,” organizing group PSL Chicago wrote Wednesday in an Instagram post. “CBP commander Greg Bovino even thanked them for their efforts.”
Bovino made his return to Chicago earlier this week. On Wednesday, he thanked “both Chicago and Evanston Police Departments who provided assistance in preventing violent mobs from assaulting our law enforcement officers as we were conducting Title 8 immigration duties in the area.”
Community members shared multiple videos on social media, in which they inquired about Chicago police officers’ roles at scenes where agents were present. These accusations aren’t new. Organizers and community residents accused Chicago police of assisting immigration agents in the South Loop in June, and during a confrontation between protestors and immigration agents in Brighton Park in October.
The Welcoming City ordinance prohibits local law enforcement from assisting in federal immigration enforcement.
Bovino wrote on X (formerly Twitter), “Both departments cleared the way for us to continue our enforcement efforts unimpeded.”
Mayor Brandon Johnson called Bovino a liar and “a very disturbed individual.”
“Anyone at this point who would believe anything Greg Bovino would say wants to be duped. He has been proven over and over again that he is a dishonest human being,” Johnson told reporters Thursday after a scheduled City Council meeting. “Our police officers are working within the confines of our Welcoming City ordinance. That is the expectation.”
Asked about suspicions that CBP agents are calling 911 for assistance as a way to lure police officers to the scene, giving Bovino ammo to tweet about, Johnson said “I hadn’t thought about it that way. It’s possible.”
It’s unclear just how many people were taken by federal agents during their Wednesday caravan through Chicago and its surrounding suburbs. One rapid response group reported 12 people were detained from various locations in west suburban Cicero, including a Home Depot, a Walmart and a BP gas station.
