Border Patrol deployment to Chicago expected to go on ‘for years’
Border patrol has deployed hundreds of agents to Chicago to assist ICE in arresting criminal illegal immigrants, and the commander of the operation, Gregory Bovino, said the presence is expected to continue for years.The deployment followed the Trump governance’s early-2025 efforts to tighten control of the U.S.-mexico border, which freed agents to support local enforcement in cities such as Los Angeles, Portland, Washington, and Chicago under initiatives like ICE’s operation Midway Blitz. Agents made a highly visible entry into Chicago this fall, and federal activity has resulted in thousands of arrests since an initial roundup of more than 800 people in September. Tensions with local officials remain: city police reportedly declined to transfer most detained undocumented people to ICE under Chicago’s sanctuary policies, and Illinois lawmakers recently passed a law limiting federal arrests at courthouses. DHS also disclosed intelligence that gangs in some Chicago neighborhoods were offered bounties to target ICE employees; authorities later arrested a Latin Kings member accused of plotting against Bovino.
Border Patrol’s monthslong deployment to Chicago now expected to go on ‘for years’
The head of Border Patrol‘s at-large operations assisting Immigration and Customs Enforcement said agents will remain in Chicago for years, as the agencies continue to work to arrest criminal illegal immigrants in the city.
“If you think we’re done with Chicago, you’d better check yourself before you wreck yourself. Don’t call it a comeback; we’re gonna be here for years,” Gregory Bovino, commander of the operation at-large, said in a post on X.
If you think we’re done with Chicago, you’d better check yourself before you wreck yourself.
Don’t call it a comeback; we’re gonna be here for years.#DHS #CBP #USBP #BorderPatrol #OpMidwayBlitz #Chicago pic.twitter.com/eDxM4OxLyV
— Commander Op At Large CA Gregory K. Bovino (@CMDROpAtLargeCA) December 30, 2025
The Trump administration’s success in regaining control of the U.S.-Mexico border early in 2025 has allowed Border Patrol to dispatch hundreds of its agents across the country to help ICE go after illegal immigrants in various communities.
During the Trump administration’s crackdown on general crime in cities this summer, Border Patrol opted to send in agents to cities nationwide to tackle crime, as well as illegal immigration, starting with Los Angeles, Portland, Washington, and Chicago.
ICE launched Operation Midway Blitz in honor of Katie Abraham, an Illinois woman who was killed in a drunk-driving hit-and-run by driver Julio Cucul-Bol, an illegal immigrant.
Border Patrol made a very public entrance to Chicago early this fall, parading down Michigan Avenue in tactical gear.
Ahead of their arrival in Chicago, the Washington Examiner reported that Chicago police refused to turn over more than 1,550 (92%) of illegal immigrants in local jails for criminal offenses during the Trump administration due to the city’s “sanctuary” policy of not cooperating with ICE.
“The elected leaders in this state of Illinois are ignoring the law. In fact, they’re being obstructionists when it comes to getting dangerous criminals off their streets,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said at a press conference in Chicago in August.
More than 800 illegal immigrants were rounded up and arrested by federal police in September, and that number has soared into the thousands since then.
The Department of Homeland Security shared internal information from the Drug Enforcement Administration with the Washington Examiner in October that showed gangs in Chicago‘s southwest neighborhoods were offered bounties between $5,000 and $50,000 from someone in Mexico for each ICE employee they assassinated.
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Last week, DHS announced that it arrested Latin Kings gang member Juan Espinoza Martinez for putting out a “hit” on Bovino, the head of Border Patrol’s Chicago operations
In early December, Gov. JB Pritzker (D-IL) signed into law legislation to protect illegal immigrants from “unjust” federal immigration enforcement. The law banned federal immigration authorities from making arrests at courthouses.
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