On West 26th Street, under Little Village’s iconic arch and along the storefronts of the Discount Mall, a Border Patrol commander in green fatigues stepped into the frame of a phone camera and, according to court filings, lobbed a canister toward a crowd. Attorneys now allege that the man in the video is Cmdr. Gregory Bovino, identified in testimony as leading “Operation Midway Blitz,” and that his use of tear gas on Oct. 23 may have violated a temporary restraining order entered days earlier by U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis, according to Chicago Tribune reporting.

On the ground in Little Village

Federal immigration agents returned to Little Village for a second consecutive day Thursday, drawing residents, parents and students to the block-long commercial hub at 26th and Albany. Half a dozen people were detained, including a 16-year-old U.S. citizen, while at least seven had been taken into custody the day before, the Chicago Tribune reported. Video reviewed by the Tribune shows agents near the Discount Mall confronting onlookers before canisters were deployed, with no audible warnings on the recording.

Yani Sotelo, who was running errands with her phone out, said she captured the moment Bovino appears to throw a canister. “He didn’t warn us, but threatened us with the bomb,” Sotelo said. “We were obviously angry and yelling things, but they were determined to get under our skin, to use excessive force.” She added that fear has spread even among U.S. citizens: “We were all for them taking criminals,” she said. “But at this point they’re taking people for the color of their skin, we can’t even speak Spanish because then you become a target,” according to the Chicago Tribune.

Chicago police, who responded to multiple 911 calls including one from a federal agent, said they were there to “work to de-escalate.” “Upon arrival, CPD supervisors and officers observed a large crowd and worked to de-escalate,” a department spokesperson told the Tribune in an email. “CPD officers were only on scene to maintain public safety through crowd control and traffic control. Officers secured the area and left the scene once the area was safely cleared.” One person was arrested by CPD for allegedly battering an officer, with charges pending, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Baltazar Enriquez of the Little Village Community Council said he mobilized neighbors to push agents to leave without confrontation. “It’s time to go home, guys,” he said he told them. “We have no guns, but we have a whistle,” referring to the alerts residents use to warn one another of immigration activity, according to the Chicago Tribune. State Rep. Edgar Gonzalez said agents deployed gas without announcing. “The community members were not armed. They were angry and yelling at them, but no one had weapons,” he said. “I was tear-gassed and pushed by the agents. It’s clear that they wanted to provoke us.” As the agents departed, some in the crowd chanted, “El pueblo unido jamás será vencido — The people united will never be divided,” the Tribune reported.

What the court filing says

A two-page filing by journalism advocacy organizations included an annotated still image from video, which attorneys say shows Bovino lobbing a canister underhand while standing in a parking lot beside other agents. The filing alleged he violated “multiple paragraphs” of Judge Ellis’ order restricting when and how tear gas can be used against protesters and media. Attorneys told Ellis they were assembling declarations and additional evidence, and asked her to conduct an inquiry into Bovino’s actions and provide any relief she deems appropriate, according to the Chicago Tribune.

The filing also described a confrontation the previous day in Little Village, alleging a masked, unidentified agent ordered bystanders to “clear the area” even though no one was blocking agents or vehicles. It quotes Bovino as asking a woman filming, “What’d you say?” and, “Did you make a threat?” before ordering agents to seize her phone. The filing says agents pulled the woman to the ground and kneeled on her back, and that pepper spray was used, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Ellis, who held a lengthy hearing earlier in the week on alleged violations, ordered Bovino to sit for a deposition on tactics and compliance; on Thursday, she expanded the time to five hours and directed that it include use-of-force incidents in Little Village on Wednesday and Thursday, court records show, according to the Tribune. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to questions, and Bovino did not respond to a direct email, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Why this neighborhood reacted the way it did

Little Village, or South Lawndale, is a densely populated, predominantly Mexican and Mexican American community, with decades-old networks of small businesses and community groups that animate the area’s commercial corridors, according to Wikipedia, Delta Institute and LiveUnitedChicago. The Discount Mall beside the neighborhood’s arch has long served as a social and commercial anchor — one reason tensions flared as enforcement unfolded there, the Chicago Tribune noted.

Local leaders said the detentions of U.S. citizens, including a 16-year-old Benito Juárez Community Academy student, spread fear among families and students. “It is outrageous that ICE agents are terrorizing minors,” Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez said at a news conference outside the school, according to the Chicago Tribune. Teacher Liz Winfield told the Tribune she marked a junior absent “Not because that student was sick, not because the student overslept or the bus was late,” adding, “It was because ICE had snatched him up on his way to school.” The episode’s effect, she said, is far-reaching: “The collective impact of the trauma this junior experienced ripples through our school community… It impacts their lives, filling them with stress. … It makes learning nearly impossible.”

Thursday’s clash was at least the fourth deployment of tear gas by federal immigration authorities in Chicago since “Operation Midway Blitz” began; in two instances, Chicago police officers were also exposed to the chemical agent, the Chicago Tribune reported. Earlier this month, agents used gas on a residential street on the East Side after rocks were thrown at vehicles; on Oct. 4, gas was used after a woman was shot in Brighton Park; and a day before that, agents tossed canisters near an elementary school in Logan Square, according to the Tribune.

The federal backdrop

The enforcement activity is part of “Operation Midway Blitz,” a federal initiative launched in September and framed by the administration as a push in jurisdictions with sanctuary policies that limit cooperation with immigration authorities, as reported by Reuters. In court Monday, a government witness identified Bovino as the leader of the ongoing blitz, and Ellis has ordered him to testify under oath about tactics and compliance with her orders, according to the Chicago Tribune.

What comes next

If Ellis determines her order was violated, the consequences could include contempt findings and further limits on tactics, with the weight of video, witness testimony, and chain-of-command records likely to be decisive, according to the Chicago Tribune. Attorneys told the court they are gathering evidence, including the video stills filed this week. A date for Bovino’s deposition had not been set as of Thursday, but it likely will occur in the next two weeks, the Tribune reported.

Community advocates and attorneys have emphasized immediate, practical steps to safeguard residents and the record of what occurred, based on the legal issues described in Tribune reporting and court filings:

  • Preserve videos, photos, and witness statements with time and location details, according to Chicago Tribune reporting on the importance of video and declarations.
  • Coordinate rapid-response legal aid for arrestees — including U.S. citizens — and pursue enforcement of the court’s order, as reflected in the filings described by the Chicago Tribune.
  • Offer know-your-rights briefings and mental-health support for families and students affected, community organizers said in accounts reported by the Chicago Tribune.

Given the legal questions and public safety concerns, policy recommendations flagged in reporting around “Midway Blitz” include clearer limits on crowd-control tools and stronger accountability, as described by Reuters and the Chicago Tribune:

  • Define and enforce rules governing tear gas and other crowd-control devices near protesters, media and bystanders.
  • Require after-action reports and independent review when court orders are implicated.
  • Expand training that emphasizes de-escalation and clear authorization chains for any use of chemical agents.

In Little Village, the organizing has already resumed. After Thursday’s departure, Enriquez told the Tribune he gathered volunteers again, convinced the operation would shift elsewhere. “We need to keep patrolling. They left now, but we know they’re going somewhere else.” With more hearings and depositions looming, and residents still documenting each encounter, the neighborhood’s response — and the courts’ — will shape what happens the next time federal vehicles roll under the arch.