More than 200 Border Patrol agents descended on a Chicago Home Depot parking lot early Thursday morning in a sweeping immigration enforcement action under President Trump’s Operation Midway Blitz. The operation marked one of the largest federal deployments yet in the crackdown on criminal illegal aliens shielded by Chicago’s sanctuary policies. The early morning sweep of the home improvement store parking lot was conducted like operations that have been underway in Los Angeles in recent months.
The Border Patrol agents participating in the operation are volunteers from stations around the country. The agents are detailed for an undetermined amount of time according to the Border Patrol. The Border Patrol has not yet released official reports on the number of illegal aliens arrested or any others detained for criminal activity at the home improvement store.
Breitbart Texas spoke to Border Patrol’s El Centro Sector Chief Patrol Agent Gregory K. Bovino, who is currently on the ground in Chicago, about the early morning action and other developments in Chicago. Bovino, who, in addition to commanding the Border Patrol contingent in Chicago, also commands CBP’s contingent of agents involved in California’s Operation At Large Immigration Enforcement Operation. The chief says actions such as the one carried out on Thursday have netted criminal illegal aliens who otherwise have eluded authorities due to sanctuary city policies and the lack of proper vetting during the Biden Border Crisis.
Bovino told Breitbart he has conducted informal outreach with community members in Chicago and is pleasantly surprised by the reactions he is receiving. “I am speaking to residents in and around the downtown area, and I am receiving excellent feedback. Residents are happy to see us in the area, and many have expressed frustration that we didn’t get here sooner,” Bovino reported.
The seasoned Border Patrol chief, who has served in the agency for nearly 30 years, told Breitbart Texas that residents of sanctuary cities like Chicago and Los Angeles should not have to suffer at the hands of criminal illegal aliens who are released back into the community after committing acts of violence that endanger their communities.
“It’s not fair to the citizens of Chicago who abide by the law to constantly worry about rampant crime in their city,” Bovino stated. “We have a duty to help them by enforcing the nation’s immigration laws and arrest the worst of the worst regardless of the inaction some local government leaders who believe in shielding criminals.”
In an exclusive interview on Thursday, Bovino said his agency is deploying four Border Patrol boats along the Chicago River. He explained that the move will bolster the effort to apprehend the “worst of the worst” by allowing Border Patrol access to key transit areas within the Chicago River waterway and will provide support to other federal agencies assisting in the Midway Blitz immigration enforcement operation. The three patrol vessels will increase border security by allowing quick access to respond as needed to multiple areas within the city.
The Department of Homeland Security Launched Operation Midway Blitz in early September in honor of Katie Abraham, who was killed in a drunk driving hit-and-run car wreck caused by criminal illegal alien Julio Cucul-Bol in Illinois. According to a DHS announcement, the operation targets the criminal illegal aliens who arrived in Chicago and other parts of Illinois because of sanctuary policies that would protect them and allow them to roam free on American streets.
Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin commented on the launch of the operation, saying:
For years, Governor Pritzker and his fellow sanctuary politicians released Tren de Aragua gang members, rapists, kidnappers, and drug traffickers on Chicago’s streets—putting American lives at risk and making Chicago a magnet for criminals. President Trump and Secretary Noem have a clear message: no city is a safe haven for criminal illegal aliens. If you come to our country illegally and break our laws, we will hunt you down, arrest you, deport you, and you will never return.
Randy Clark is a 32-year veteran of the United States Border Patrol. Before his retirement, he served as the Division Chief for Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol Stations within the Del Rio, Texas, Sector. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @RandyClarkBBTX.
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