{"id":456558,"date":"2025-12-18T23:36:18","date_gmt":"2025-12-18T23:36:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/456558\/"},"modified":"2025-12-18T23:36:18","modified_gmt":"2025-12-18T23:36:18","slug":"police-watchdogs-seek-hearing-on-polices-interactions-with-feds-after-bovino-thanks-officers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/456558\/","title":{"rendered":"Police Watchdogs Seek Hearing On Police’s Interactions With Feds After Bovino Thanks Officers"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is part of our series of daily recaps of ICE activity in the Chicago region. Have a tip we should check out? Email\u00a0newsroom@blockclubchi.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

DOWNTOWN \u2014 Members of the city\u2019s police district councils are seeking a public hearing into recent interactions between Chicago officers and federal immigration agents, a move that comes one day after Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino thanked police for their \u201cassistance.\u201d<\/p>\n

The district council members submitted their public hearing petition to the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability on Thursday, citing a social media post by Bovino <\/a>in which he thanked both the Chicago and Evanston police departments for help during operations in both cities Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cRecent events, including actions taken within the last 48 hours and public statements made by federal enforcement officials, have raised urgent questions about CPD\u2019s role in federal immigration enforcement and whether those actions align with Chicago\u2019s Welcoming City Ordinance,\u201d a letter attached to the petition stated.<\/p>\n

In November, more than 30 members of the city\u2019s police district councils, which are civilian boards charged with overseeing police operations, signed a letter calling for a public hearing<\/a> \u201cto investigate the actions, communications, collaborations, and operational interactions\u201d between local law enforcement and agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol.<\/p>\n

Eliana Bahena, of the 10th District council, said the members want to see a hearing conducted as soon as possible to ensure Chicagoans have more information on what police officers\u2019 roles are during immigration arrests before March, when 1,000 federal agents could be coming to the city<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Bahena and her fellow district council members created a petition demanding a public hearing and spent the past three weeks collecting more than 2,000 signatures. The Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability bylaws allow citizens to petition the commission to hold special meetings. Per the bylaws, the commission has 21 days to hold a special meeting once the petition is submitted.<\/p>\n

An online petition calling for a hearing has also been created and is available here.<\/a> <\/p>\n

\"\"Eliana Bahena, of the 10th district council, submits a petition to Adam Gross, the executive director of the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability, on Dec. 18. 2025. Credit: Molly DeVore\/ Block Club Chicago<\/p>\n

Leonardo Quintero, of the 12th District Council, said the hearing should include police Supt. Larry Snelling, all 22 police district commanders, subject matter experts, rapid responders and community members. <\/p>\n

Quintero said the hearing should evaluate if there\u2019s been any coordination between local police and federal agents during the immigration raids and whether there\u2019s been any violations of the city\u2019s\u00a0Welcoming City Ordinance<\/a>, which prohibits local law enforcement from assisting in civil federal immigration enforcement operations.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Police officers have been spotted during intense confrontations between protestors and federal immigration officials, and\u00a0there have been previous calls to investigate<\/a> whether there\u2019s been coordination.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, Bovino \u2014 in his second day back in Chicago after leaving last month \u2014 led a large caravan of federal agents through the city and into the suburbs. One rapid responder who had been following the caravan was pulled over by Chicago police. <\/p>\n

Chicago police said Wednesday that it responded to an \u201cassist the police call\u201d placed by an agent in that area who claimed that another driver had attempted to ram a Border Patrol vehicle.<\/p>\n

Responding officers met with the agent at the scene, and the police department said that the agent did not want to pursue charges against the driver. Officers also stopped the driver who had been identified by the agent, but they allowed the driver to leave after questioning.<\/p>\n

Later Wednesday, Bovino wrote on social media that Chicago and Evanston police \u201ccleared the way for us to continue our enforcement efforts unimpeded.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n

I would like to thank both Chicago and Evanston Police Departments who provided assistance in preventing violent mobs from assaulting our law enforcement officers as we were conducting Title 8 immigration duties in the area.\u00a0 Both departments cleared the way for us to continue\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2014 Commander Op At Large CA Gregory K. Bovino (@CMDROpAtLargeCA) December 17, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

When asked about any collaboration between Chicago police and Border Patrol, Mayor Brandon Johnson on Thursday called Bovino \u201ca liar.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cOur police officers are working within the confines of our Welcoming City Ordinance,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cGreg Bovino is a very disturbed individual and has never spoken the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bahena, however, said the Wednesday traffic stop left neighbors with a lot of questions.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the things that we saw in Little Village when the Chicago Police Department did show up, was that they physically faced away from the community, so that kind of sends a message,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen [police] arrive, it causes confusion and when they start closing off streets and barricading rapid response volunteers into closed areas, it leaves community members with a lot of question about what their role is and who they are protecting.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"A crew of Chicago Police cars stop traffic on Sheridan Road in Edgewater and pull over a driver who was following a caravan of Border Patrol agents driving through Chicago on Dec. 17, 2025. Credit: Colin Boyle\/Block Club Chicago<\/p>\n

In a statement, Chicago police said the department does not document immigration status and \u201cdoes not assist federal immigration authorities with enforcement action solely based on immigration status.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be clear, the Chicago Police Department will not assist or intervene in civil immigration enforcement in accordance with the\u00a0City\u00a0of Chicago Municipal Code. As always, we will continue to enforce the law if a crime occurs, regardless of the citizenship status of those involved,\u201d the department said. <\/p>\n

On Wednesday, Ald. Andre Vasquez (40th), chair of the Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights, posted a video asking residents to report<\/a> any incidents of city officials, including police officers, working with federal immigration agents. Reports can be made here.<\/a><\/p>\n

Adam Gross, the executive director of the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability, accepted the petition on Thursday and said commission staff are currently working to develop a plan for the hearing. <\/p>\n

Know Your Rights<\/p>\n

Follow For Updates<\/p>\n

You can follow these organizations for updates about immigration enforcement activity.<\/p>\n

Listen to the Block Club Chicago podcast:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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