Top Border Patrol boss joins in Little Village raids that spark protest

Border Patrol Commander-at-Large Gregory Bovino joined federal immigration agents in Little Village on Wednesday as they carried out arrests — just days after a federal judge ordered him to sit for a deposition regarding the government’s handling of protesters during "Operation Midway Blitz."

Federal immigration agents were seen at multiple locations in the neighborhood Wednesday morning, including along West 26th Street, where at least one person was detained. Video footage taken on 26th Street between South Sawyer Avenue and South Spaulding Avenue shows Bovino with agents as they make the arrest.

The operation concluded with a crash involving federal agents near 26th Street and Ogden Avenue in suburban Cicero, where one man was taken into custody in handcuffs.

Gloria Ramirez, of Cicero, was driving a Toyota Corolla around 11 a.m. when she was hit by a GMC pickup truck who ran through a red light.

Ramirez said moments later her door was opened by federal immigration agents who told her to step out of the vehicle and led her onto the side of the road, where they told her to wait for Cicero Police officers to arrive.

Video footage showed a man being put into handcuffs as Ramirez was being led away.

A federal agent told Cicero officers that they had been conducting immigration detainment activity in the area when the crash happened. It wasn’t immediately known if federal agents were following the driver of the pickup truck before placing him in custody.

Dozens of protesters quickly gathered after learning of the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol’s involvement in the crash. Protesters were heard yelling at agents, including Bovino, to leave the town and let detainees go.

“They're here to create mayhem in our community,” said Ald. Michael Rodriguez (22nd) who rushed to the scene of the crash after learning federal officers were making arrests in Little Village. “It's terrible, and they shouldn't be here. We want them gone.”

One federal officer sitting inside a vehicle was seen pepper spraying protesters through the rear window. CBP did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Rodriguez told the Sun-Times that he would work on identifying all the people detained during Wednesday morning’s raids and would offer support to the families.

Bovino’s appearance on Wednesday came just days after a judge ruled that he must sit for a deposition in an ongoing lawsuit challenging the federal government’s treatment of protesters during the Trump administration’s aggressive deportation campaign in Chicago.

U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis said Bovino’s deposition will be limited to “how” federal officers are enforcing the law, and whether they are violating people’s constitutional rights. She said Bovino should not be asked, more broadly, “why” Chicago has been targeted.

Bovino is the public face for President Donald Trump's aggressive deportation campaign in the Chicago area. The Border Patrol chief told a WBEZ reporter agents in Chicago were stopping people based partly on “how they look.”

Bovino is also at the center of a high-profile case at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse, in which prosecutors say a “ranking member of the Latin Kings” street gang put a $10,000 bounty on Bovino’s head.

The feds have used the prosecution to argue that the U.S. Supreme Court should allow President Donald Trump to deploy National Guard troops within Illinois over the objection of Gov. JB Pritzker.

Lawyers for Juan Espinoza Martinez say he has “no prior criminal history or gang affiliation.”

During a brief hearing Wednesday, defense attorney Jonathan Bedi pushed for trial as soon as possible. He told U.S. District Judge Joan Lefkow that prosecutors “can’t come anywhere near sustaining their burden” to prove Martinez guilty.

Lefkow set the trial for Jan. 20.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.