Judge's 200-page report reveals new details on federal immigration crackdown in Chicago

Judge says DHS statements 'difficult to believe'

A judge’s report on Operation Midway Blitz reveals DHS officials misrepresented facts repeatedly.

CHICAGO - A new federal court report details widespread concerns about the conduct of immigration agents during "Operation Midway Blitz," the Trump administration's immigration enforcement push in the Chicago area.

What we know:

In her 233-page order, U.S. District Judge Sarah Ellis described multiple instances of questionable and at times unjustified use of force by federal agents against protesters since September.

"For example, repeatedly shooting pepper balls or pepper spray at clergy members shocks the conscience," Ellis wrote. "Tear gassing expectant mothers, children, and babies shocks the conscience… Pointing a gun at someone for exercising their First Amendment rights shocks the conscience… Tackling someone dressed in a duck costume to the ground and leaving him with a traumatic brain injury, and then refusing to provide any explanation for the action, shocks the conscience."

Ellis also noted that body camera footage sometimes contradicted official reports.

"An agent can be seen quickly walking in front of the line of people, yelling ‘You’re gonna get gassed, you’ve been warned, you’re gonna get gassed,’" Ellis wrote. "Then, without giving the protesters an opportunity to comply, contrary to his claim in the use of force report that he waited… ‘a considerable amount of time,’ [the agent] rolled a tear gas canister toward the protesters."

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - OCTOBER 04: Police take two people into custody, as tear gas fills the air after it was used by federal law enforcement agents who were being confronted by community members and activists for reportedly shooting a woman in the Bri

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Dig deeper:

Among the more striking details, the judge said at least one Customs and Border Protection agent used ChatGPT to draft official use-of-force reports, feeding the AI a "brief sentence about an encounter and several images" to produce a written account, adding "this further undermines their credibility and may explain the inaccuracy of these reports when viewed in light of the [body camera] footage."

Furthermore, Ellis didn't hold back when describing Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino's testimony about his operations.

"Turning to Bovino, the Court specifically finds his testimony not credible. Bovino appeared evasive over the three days of his deposition, either providing ‘cute’ responses to Plaintiffs’ counsel’s questions or outright lying. When shown a video of agents hitting Rev. Black with pepper balls, Bovino denied seeing a projectile hit Rev. Black in the head," the judge wrote.

Read the full report HERE.

Big picture view:

Ellis' report was released Thursday, one day after an appeals court temporarily halted an order restricting the use of force by federal immigration agents in the Chicago area, calling it "overbroad" and "too prescriptive."

Earlier this month, Ellis issued a preliminary injunction in response to a lawsuit filed by news outlets and protesters who claimed federal officers used excessive force during the immigration crackdown that has netted more than 3,000 arrests since September across the nation’s third-largest city and its many suburbs.