Meanwhile, in CHICAGO

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“… Denise Lorence wrote in an op-ed in the Chicago Tribune this week that her late daughter, Katie Abraham, “would not have wanted to be associated with a campaign that targets Chicago — a city she not only loved but felt safe in.”

In September, the Department of Homeland Security launched “Operation Midway Blitz,” a large-scale immigration enforcement operation, in honor of Abraham. She and a friend were killed when an undocumented immigrant, who was driving drunk, crashed into her vehicle in Urbana, Illinois, on Jan. 19. Local police have said the man charged in the case, Julio Cucul Bol, of Guatemala, had attempted to flee the country on a bus headed to Mexico before the U.S. Marshals Service apprehended him.

… Joe Abraham, Katie’s father, who is in another marriage, has said he supports the Trump administration’s operation and gave his permission to the Trump administration to honor his daughter. In a statement provided by DHS, he faulted sanctuary city policies, which prevent local law enforcement officials from cooperating with civil immigration enforcement, for helping contribute to his daughter’s death.

… But in her op-ed, Lorence wrote: “Katie would not have wanted this. … Katie would not want to be associated with an operation in which kids witness their parents being taken into custody on their way to or from school. She wouldn’t support scaring kids with the use of military efforts in their neighborhoods or in their apartment buildings.”

… In her op-ed, Lorence acknowledged Joe Abraham’s support for the operation and said she would “never fault or question someone in the way they grieve.”

But she also said she was struggling with her own grief and wanted to reclaim her daughter’s legacy.

… “I taught Katie to advocate for herself, and as heartbreaking as it is, Katie is no longer here to advocate for herself because of a crime that took place 150 miles from Chicago. She cannot advocate for herself and stand up to say ‘I am not a political pawn.’”…”
 


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10 U.S. Code § 12406 - National Guard in Federal service: call​


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“… The event, in Old Irving Park, a quiet neighbourhood on Chicago’s north-west side, was just one of at least five that week where officials from cbp threw tear gas at seemingly peaceful crowds. So goes “Operation Midway Blitz”, the federal immigration enforcement effort in Chicago, which started in early September. As it has expanded, the government claims to have arrested nearly 3,000 migrants. But the use of tear gas seems to reflect how local resistance, in the form of whistle-blowing protesters, is frustrating their work.

Over the course of just a few days, Border Patrol agents have been filmed lobbing tear-gas grenades out of a car, shoving a woman who was shouting at them to the ground and dragging a 67-year-old man out of his car and pinning him to the ground—allegedly breaking his ribs in the process. In the latter two cases, both victims were citizens, not targets for arrest. These videos, cited in court, have all been viewed by The Economist. According to court documents submitted to Judge Ellis by the plaintiffs, one agent also pointed his rifle at a protester and told him “Bang, bang” and “You’re dead, liberal.” “I never expected to be tear-gassed on a street of multimillion-dollar houses,” says a woman who saw an incident in Lakeview, one of the city’s wealthier neighbourhoods.

Remarkably, even Mr Bovino himself on October 23rd was caught on camera at the front of a phalanx of heavily armed officers throwing a tear-gas grenade in Little Village, the heart of Chicago’s Mexican district. As Judge Ellis noted, he did not appear to issue a warning, as required by her restraining order. He also lobbed the grenade over the heads of a crowd of protesters, which the order also forbade. A dhsspokeswoman said he did so only after somebody threw a stone that hit his head, but the department has provided no evidence of this. Even with the presence of professional photographers and people filming on phones, as well as federal agents’ body cameras, nobody seems to have captured it. Mr Bovino did not have a head injury at his court appearance.…”
 
nycfan said:
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“… The event, in Old Irving Park, a quiet neighbourhood on Chicago’s north-west side, was just one of at least five that week where officials from cbp threw tear gas at seemingly peaceful crowds. So goes “Operation Midway Blitz”, the federal immigration enforcement effort in Chicago, which started in early September. As it has expanded, the government claims to have arrested nearly 3,000 migrants. But the use of tear gas seems to reflect how local resistance, in the form of whistle-blowing protesters, is frustrating their work.

Over the course of just a few days, Border Patrol agents have been filmed lobbing tear-gas grenades out of a car, shoving a woman who was shouting at them to the ground and dragging a 67-year-old man out of his car and pinning him to the ground—allegedly breaking his ribs in the process. In the latter two cases, both victims were citizens, not targets for arrest. These videos, cited in court, have all been viewed by The Economist. According to court documents submitted to Judge Ellis by the plaintiffs, one agent also pointed his rifle at a protester and told him “Bang, bang” and “You’re dead, liberal.” “I never expected to be tear-gassed on a street of multimillion-dollar houses,” says a woman who saw an incident in Lakeview, one of the city’s wealthier neighbourhoods.

Remarkably, even Mr Bovino himself on October 23rd was caught on camera at the front of a phalanx of heavily armed officers throwing a tear-gas grenade in Little Village, the heart of Chicago’s Mexican district. As Judge Ellis noted, he did not appear to issue a warning, as required by her restraining order. He also lobbed the grenade over the heads of a crowd of protesters, which the order also forbade. A dhsspokeswoman said he did so only after somebody threw a stone that hit his head, but the department has provided no evidence of this. Even with the presence of professional photographers and people filming on phones, as well as federal agents’ body cameras, nobody seems to have captured it. Mr Bovino did not have a head injury at his court appearance.…”
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“… Baltazar Enriquez, the Mexican-American president of the Little Village Community Council, a non-profit, is among those who rushes to the scene of arrests, usually broadcasting footage live to his Facebook page. He says that his organisation is also transporting 68 children who are either undocumented themselves, or have undocumented parents, to school each morning. “Beautiful people are willing to come out and help these children get to school safely,” he says. His group is delivering food and other support to street vendors who are hiding indoors. For his troubles, Mr Enriquez says his home was visited by fbi agents earlier this month.

The government view of all this activity is that it is illegitimate, violent interference. Kristi Noem, the dhs secretary, wrote in the Wall Street Journal that organisers are “terrorists, gang members and rioters” (perhaps the children’s Halloween costumes were too convincing).

In her hearing on October 28th, Judge Ellis ordered Mr Bovino to report to her in person at court every evening to explain each day’s operations. All body-camera footage must be given to the court, and all officers must wear one when in the field. From now on, “I don’t know that we’re going to see a whole lot of tear gas being deployed,” she said. Mr Bovino listened attentively and promised to comply. [Now that decision has been stayed]

But as he left the court building, he got into a car—and, in front of a crowd of protesters wielding camera phones, placed a tear-gas grenade on the dashboard.“
 


“A federal judge in Chicago on Thursday said immigration officials had lied about the nature of local protests against the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in the city, and ordered agents to restrict their use of tear gas and other anti-riot weapons in the area.

At a hearing, U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis said she did not find government witnesses' allegations about violence at the protests in the country’s third-largest city to be credible, and cited several incidents where she said body camera video and other recordings directly contradicted what immigration officials said happened.

She granted a request from a group of protesters, journalists and clergy members for a preliminary injunction restricting federal immigration agents’ use of force against them.…”
 
nycfan said:


“A federal judge in Chicago on Thursday said immigration officials had lied about the nature of local protests against the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in the city, and ordered agents to restrict their use of tear gas and other anti-riot weapons in the area.

At a hearing, U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis said she did not find government witnesses' allegations about violence at the protests in the country’s third-largest city to be credible, and cited several incidents where she said body camera video and other recordings directly contradicted what immigration officials said happened.

She granted a request from a group of protesters, journalists and clergy members for a preliminary injunction restricting federal immigration agents’ use of force against them.…”
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“… Border Patrol commander-at-large Gregory Bovino, who is spearheading the immigration operation in Chicago, admitted during a deposition in the case that he lied about being hit with a rock before he threw tear gas at a crowd protesting in a predominantly Mexican neighborhood in October when he was actually hit afterwards, Ellis said.

… In her order, which remains in effect while the case proceeds, Ellis prohibited the use of anti-riot weapons against protesters unless there is a threat of imminent harm and directed immigration officials not to disperse, arrest or threaten journalists. She directed immigration agents to wear body cameras and clear identification. The order follows a similar temporary restraining order she issued last month, which expired today.

Ellis had previously raised concerns that federal agents appeared to be violating her earlier order and had summoned Bovino to testify daily before her, but a U.S. appeals court later overturned that directive, ruling she had overstepped her role.
At a lengthy hearing on Wednesday, the plaintiffs spoke about violence they experienced during protests outside an immigration detention facility in Broadview, Illinois, and on residential streets in Chicago.

Multiple people testified that agents had aimed guns at their heads after they filmed their activity, and a pastor spoke about being shot in the face with a pepper ball while praying.

U.S. Justice Department attorney Sarmad Khojasteh argued that in every instance, federal agents were justified in using force to respond to violence during the protests, which the government characterized as riots. He told the court that the protesters’ actions did not constitute protected speech, and noted that all the witnesses said they continued to protest despite their experiences.…”
 
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