Appeals court blocks judge’s order requiring daily briefings on immigration crackdowns in Chicago

CHICAGO (AP) — An appeals court stepped in Wednesday and abruptly blocked an order requiring a top Border Patrol official to give a judge unprecedented daily briefings on immigration crackdowns in Chicago.

Read more: The judge ordered Bovino, a Border Patrol official, to meet with her daily about the immigration crackdown in Chicago

The one-page comment by the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals came before Greg Bovino’s first late-afternoon meeting with U.S. District Judge Sarah Ellis in a downtown Chicago courtroom.

Ellis ordered the meetings Tuesday after weeks of tense standoffs and increasingly aggressive tactics by government agents working Operation Midway Blitz, which resulted in more than 1,800 arrests and complaints of excessive force.

Bovino told Fox News he was eager to talk to Ellis. But government lawyers have appealed its decision at the same time, calling it “extremely damaging.”

“The order substantially interferes with the core executive function of ensuring that the nation’s immigration laws are properly enforced by obstructing a senior executive who criticizes that mission on a daily basis,” the Justice Department said.

Judge upset by tear gas

Media lawyers and activists whose lawsuit alleging excessive force by agents in and around Chicago prompted a judge to issue Bovino briefings until 5 p.m. Thursday to respond in the appeals court.

Ellis’ order followed the use of tear gas in a neighborhood where children had gathered for a Halloween parade last weekend on Chicago’s Northwest Side. Neighbors joined the street when someone was arrested.

Read more: Immigration agents have become increasingly aggressive in Chicago

“Halloween is Friday,” the judge said Tuesday. “I don’t want to get violation reports from prosecutors that show agents walking around on Halloween, where children are present and tear gas is being deployed.”

Bovino defended the agents’ actions.

“If she wanted to meet me every day, she would see, she would get a very good first-hand look at how bad things really are on the streets of Chicago,” Bovino told Fox News. “I look forward to meeting with that judge to show her exactly what is going on and the tremendous amount of violence committed against law enforcement here.”

Related cases in many courts

Meanwhile, prosecutors brought charges against Kat Abu-Ghazaleh, a Democratic congressional candidate, and five other people over protests at an immigration enforcement building in Broadview, outside Chicago. The indictment unsealed Wednesday accuses them of illegally obstructing a customer’s vehicle on September 26.

Read more: Democratic congressional candidate Abu-Ghazaleh charged over ICE protests in Illinois

Abu-Ghazaleh described the trial as “an attempt to silence the opposition.”

The Chicago court actions came as groups and officials across the country filed lawsuits aimed at restricting the federal deployment of National Guard troops.

President Donald Trump’s administration will remain prohibited from deploying troops to the Chicago area until at least the latter half of November, following a U.S. Supreme Court order on Wednesday calling on the parties to file additional legal briefs.

The justices indicated they would not act before November 17 on the administration’s emergency appeal to overturn the lower court ruling blocking the deployments.

In Portland, Oregon, a federal trial seeking to block the deployment began Wednesday morning, with the police chief describing on the witness stand how federal agents at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building repeatedly fired tear gas at peaceful protesters.

The judge wants real-time updates

In Chicago, Bovino, a Border Patrol sector chief in El Centro, California, was scheduled to attend daily briefings at 5:45 p.m. to report on how his agents were enforcing the law and whether they were staying within constitutional limits, Ellis said. Check-ins were scheduled to take place until the hearing on November 5.

Ellis also demanded that Bovino submit all use of force reports since September 2 from agents involved in Operation Midway Blitz.

The judge expressed confidence Tuesday that the checks will prevent excessive use of force in Chicago neighborhoods.

Ellis previously ordered agents to wear badges and prohibited them from using certain riot control techniques against peaceful protesters and journalists. She later requested body cameras after the use of tear gas raised concerns that agents would not follow her initial order.

Ellis set a deadline of Friday for Bovino to get the camera and complete the training.

Government lawyers have repeatedly defended the actions of agents, including ICE agents, telling the judge that the videos and other depictions of enforcement proceedings were one-sided and biased.

Bovino must still attend a video recording session Thursday and a private interview with attorneys for both sides.