ICE and its agents incurred the wrath of a federal judge following extensive reviews of body camera footage and “impossible to believe” statements relating to the recent enforcement operations in Chicago.
In recent months, Chicago has emerged as one the epicenters of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, with ICE launching a major enforcement effort in September dubbed “Operation Midway Blitz.”
Judge Sara L. Ellis, of the Northern District of Illinois, issued a 233-page opinion concluded that ICE leadership and agents had systematically lied about everything from the nature of certain enforcement efforts and the severity of tactics deployed. Throughout the opinion, Ellis highlighted instances in which the claims made by ICE in court were disproven by video evidence.
Responding to a thread on X laying out key details from the opinion, journalist Nicholas Kristoff summarized the court’s findings in unsparing terms.
“This is an astonishing thread: Please read every word,” Kristoff wrote. “It outlines how the Trump administration has systematically and repeatedly lied about its use of force in Chicago. I don't know what the remedy is, but if federal agents assault civilians, shouldn't they be held accountable?”
One piece of the video evidence, Ellis explained, “suggests that the agent drove erratically and brake-checked other motorists in an attempt to force accidents that agents could then use as justifications for deploying force.” Erratic and fast driving was brought up in another case in which agents blew a red light and cause a rear-end accident, after which they detained three bystanders, who were later released with no charges. An ICE officer was also seen on video pointing a gun at a resident and shouting “step back or I’m going to shoot you.”
Ellis previously issued a restraining order against ICE agents in the city, prohibiting them from using certain aggressive crowd-control tactics. The order is currently paused pending an appeal. In her opinion, she concludes that agents frequently lied about their conduct in court to make it seem less violent. One agent was also found to have used ChatGPT to “compile a narrative for a report.”
“Every minor inconsistency adds up, and at some point, it becomes difficult, if not impossible, to believe,” Ellis’s opinion stated.
Particular criticism was leveled at Gregory Bovino, the U.S. Border Patrol official serving as commander for Operation Midway Blitz. Ellis wrote that Bovino gave testimony that was “not credible,” and “appeared evasive over the three days of his deposition, either providing ‘cute’ responses… or outright lying.”