No tear gas on Halloween, Chicago judge tells CBP chief

CHICAGO (NewsNation) — A judge stopped short of banning federal agents and officers from using tear gas as part of an ongoing Chicago enforcement operation but warned a top Border Patrol official about using chemical agents while children are trick-or-treating this week.

Judge Sara Ellis will meet with Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino daily until Nov. 5 as a means of holding federal agents accountable. But before adjourning a nearly 60-minute hearing, Ellis told the federal agent who has become the face of Operation Midway Blitz that she did not expect to hear about federal agents and officers violating a temporary restraining order later this week.

“Halloween is on Friday,” Ellis said. “I do not want to get violation reports from the plaintiffs that show that agents are out and about on Halloween where kids are present and tear gas is being deployed.”

Attorneys representing a group of journalists, clergy and protesters were seeking an order from Ellis barring the use of tear gas by federal agents. Ellis did not grant an order, but she said during Tuesday’s hearing that she was not rejecting it either.

Federal officers have been captured on video in Chicago neighborhoods deploying chemical agents in dealing with groups of protesters and residents opposing the presence of agents. Video of Bovino tossing a canister of tear gas into a group of protesters last week in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood led to Ellis requesting the 30-year Border Patrol veteran appear in court Tuesday.

Gregory Bovino, Chief Patrol Agent of the El Centro Sector and Commander-Operation At Large CA (center), marches with federal agents to the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building after US Border Patrol agents produced a show of force outside the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles. (Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Despite not banning the use of tear gas, Ellis told Bovino that she will be monitoring agent activity, which included requiring that corresponding bodycam footage be turned over to her dating back to late September. She said that she will use the daily meetings with Bovino to discuss incidents that take place involving federal officers to ensure they are not using excessive force against protesters when it is not warranted.

“I know my lane,” Ellis said. “And I will stay in my lane. But I’m also not afraid to enforce this TRO. If they are using tear gas, they better be able to back it up. And if they can’t, then they will lose that as something they can use.”

Last week, three incidents in Chicago neighborhoods included the use of chemical agents. In one incident in the Old Irving Park neighborhood, video surfaced of agents tackling local protesters on a residential street where children were preparing to participate in a Halloween parade.

Regarding the incident, Ellis told Bovino, "Kids in Halloween costumes do not pose an immediate threat to the safety of a law enforcement officer. They just don't."

“These kids, you can imagine, their sense of safety was shattered on Saturday, and it’s going to take a long time for that to come back — if ever,” Ellis told Bovino, who was polite in responding to the judge, often by saying, "Yes, ma'am."

NewsNation local affiliate WGN reported that at least three people were taken into custody during the incident, in which Department of Homeland Security officials said "a group of agitators" boxed in federal agents who were there to arrest a Mexican national who was reportedly in the United States illegally.

In Little Village, the heavily Hispanic community where the incident involving Bovino took place last week, officials are planning a three-hour Halloween celebration Friday.

Baltizar Enriquez, the Little Village Community Council president, told NewsNation on Tuesday that 130 volunteers have already agreed to be present on local streets while children are out in costumes. The volunteers will also be dressed up to provide normalcy for residents, who Enriquez said have been traumatized by recent federal enforcement operations.

Enriquez said the community is asking residents and volunteers to form a human chain to protect local street vendors and others from federal agents amid complaints about the tactics of officers and agents.

"We're very concerned, and that's why we reacted this way to call our members to protect the children of Little Village," Enriquez said. "We have been targeted .... but we're very worried that (federal agents) will come try to put on a show for their supporters."