CHICAGO — Border Patrol chief Gregory Bovino has again left Chicago, the Tribune reported.
Bovino was in Chicago Tuesday and Wednesday, leading car caravans of federal immigration agents that arrested people in the city and suburbs. But he appeared to have left the city as of Thursday, the Tribune reported, citing anonymous sources.
It’s unclear why Bovino suddenly returned this week — and then quickly left — after departing Chicago in mid-November.
Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin did not answer Block Club’s questions about Bovino.
“Every day, DHS enforces the laws of the nation across the country. We do not discuss future or potential operations,” McLaughlin said Friday in an emailed statement.
Bovino has been the controversial face of operations Midway Blitz and At Large, which the Trump administration launched in September.
The Border Patrol chief returned to the city Tuesday with about 200 federal agents, sweeping across the Southwest and West sides and going to suburban Berwyn and Cicero.
“It’s going to be a merry Christmas in Chicago,” Bovino told Block Club on Tuesday. “We’re going to enforce immigration law, and that’s what we’re doing.”
On Wednesday, Bovino and agents detained residents and disrupted commutes from Midway Airport to suburban Evanston, and Bovino and Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss had a confrontation at a gas station.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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