Border Patrol Agents Pose At 'The Bean' For Apparent Photo Op

MILLENNIUM PARK — Dozens of Border Patrol agents gathered at the Bean early Monday for a photo op, with chief Gregory Bovino and a few guard dogs at the front.

It appeared to be a photo shoot for the latest photo op from the agency, which has repeatedly used photos and videos of agents posing in Chicago on social media.

Just before 6:30 a.m., adjacent Monroe Street was filled with undercover SUVs; after 7 a.m., the agents in green fatigues — many with large firearms — poured out and marched to artist Anish Kapoor’s Cloud Gate.

As the federal agents posed in front of the shiny metal art piece, a park worker approached Block Club Chicago‘s photographer and told him the artist is known to “sue” anyone who uses his artwork in a way he doesn’t like.

While Border Patrol photographers snapped photos, one agent shouted, “Everyone say, ‘Little Village!’”

“Little Village!” the crowd shouted back from the Downtown sculpture, located 6 miles northeast from the Chicago neighborhood.

Little Village is a famous Mexican-American enclave on the Southwest Side — and federal immigration agents have repeatedly targeted the people who live and work there. Agents tear-gassed a Little Village street this weekend and were spotted in the area numerous times.

Department of Homeland Security officials said federal agents were shot at in the neighborhood over the weekend, but no one was injured. Legal observers said it was agents who created a “dangerous and unsafe environment.”

Ald. Mike Rodriguez (22nd), who represents Little Village, said never heard the shots that were allegedly fired at immigration agents. He was nearby when agents deployed a chemical agent during an arrest. “It was a reign of terror,” he said.

After fielding testimony from several witnesses present at the scene of the reported shooting, Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th) also cast doubt over Homeland Security’s version of events.

On Monday morning at the Bean, Bovino warned the agents that a media member was present during their photo op, saying to “mask up.”

The agents took a few photos, then they left the park by 7:30 a.m., some posing for photos and navigating over the slippery ice from the night’s winter storm.

As they exited, Bovino called Block Club Chicago “Chicago’s Liars Club.” He questioned the publication’s coverage of federal immigration operations in the city.

“How come you never report on the work we do to improve the community?” Bovino inquired.

In late October, Bovino tear-gassed a crowd in Little Village without apparent warning — violating a judge’s order that federal immigration agents must stop attacking journalists and peaceful protesters, attorneys said at the time.

In September, ICE and Border Patrol launched operations Midway Blitz and At Large, which are supposed to focus on arresting and removing undocumented immigrants with serious criminal histories.

But federal agents have shot at least two people, killing one; repeatedly tear-gassed protesters and first responders; shot rubber bullets at protesters; detained U.S. citizens, including children; handcuffed a Chicago alderperson in a hospital; smoke bombed and tear-gassed a Chicago street; fired a chemical weapon at a TV reporter and detained a journalist, among other incidents.

U.S. Border Patrol agents gather for a photo at Millennium Park and the Cloud Gate after the winter storm overnight in Chicago on Nov. 10, 2025. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago

U.S. Border Patrol agents exit after gathering for a photo at Millennium Park and the Cloud Gate after the winter storm overnight in Chicago on Nov. 10, 2025. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago

U.S. Border Patrol agents gather for a photo at Millennium Park and the Cloud Gate after the winter storm overnight in Chicago on Nov. 10, 2025. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago

Listen to the Block Club Chicago podcast:

Border Patrol Agents Pose At ‘The Bean’ For Apparent Photo Op

Tags: