Author | Lightnews

Reposted by Tina Sfondeles

Violet Miller @vimiller.bsky.social · 8h

Federal agents fired pepper balls after detaining two people in Albany Park Friday morning as the immigration blitz in Chicago continued through Halloween.

“It’s actually horrifying. ... It happens so fast. You prepare, but then you don’t know what to do.”

chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...

A federal agent in camouflage puts his knee on a man's sternum as he detains him in a navy-colored shirt Friday in the 3200 block of West Lawrence Avenue.

Protesters with their phones out confront federal agents in green and camouflage fatigues after they detained two men in the 3200 block of West Lawrence Avenue Friday, Oct. 31, 2025.

A federal agent in military fatigues fires a pepper ball gun at the ground near protesters and reporters Friday in the 3200 block of West Lawrence Avenue.

A uniformed Chicago police officer urges protesters back onto the sidewalk after they were standing in front of the vehicles of federal agents, who had just detained two people and fired pepper balls in the 3200 block of West Lawrence Avenue Friday, Oct. 31, 2025.

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Tina Sfondeles @tinasfon.bsky.social · 1d

Gov. JB Pritzker has asked Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to suspend immigration enforcement operations throughout Chicago for three days so kids can safely celebrate Halloween.

chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...

Gov. Pritzker asks Noem to pause ICE enforcement for Halloween: 'Please let children be children'

The request, obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times, comes four days after ICE agents fired tear gas in the Old Irving Park neighborhood as families and children walked to a Halloween parade.

chicago.suntimes.com

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Tina Sfondeles @tinasfon.bsky.social · 2d

The federal appeals court in Chicago today put a temporary hold on the order requiring Border Patrol commander-at-large Gregory Bovino to appear in a courtroom every weeknight until Nov. 5.

chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/... via @jonseidel.bsky.social

Appeals court temporarily calls off Bovino's daily meeting with judge

It did so after Justice Department lawyers called Judge Sara Ellis' standing appointment with the Border Patrol boss an “extraordinarily disruptive requirement.”

chicago.suntimes.com

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Reposted by Tina Sfondeles

Jon Seidel @jonseidel.bsky.social · 2d

DEVELOPING: Feds charge Kat Abughazaleh, other political candidates in conspiracy indictment tied to Broadview protests

Reporting w/ @tinasfon.bsky.social via @chicago.suntimes.com: chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...

Feds charge Kat Abughazaleh, other political candidates in conspiracy indictment tied to Broadview protests

The indictment alleges that the six were among a group of people who surrounded a government vehicle near the Broadview ICE facility on Sept. 26 and set out to “hinder and impede” a federal agent from...

chicago.suntimes.com

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Reposted by Tina Sfondeles

Jon Seidel @jonseidel.bsky.social · 2d

Border in the Court: Today's @chicago.suntimes.com front page story on Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino's appearance at Chicago's Dirksen Federal Courthouse.

Pic by Ashlee Rezin. Reporting w/ @tinasfon.bsky.social: chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...

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Reposted by Tina Sfondeles

Jon Seidel @jonseidel.bsky.social · 3d

Greg Bovino showed up as ordered in a federal courtroom in Chicago on Tuesday.

And it turns out he and the judge will be getting to know each other a lot better.

UPDATED @chicago.suntimes.com story w/ @tinasfon.bsky.social: chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...

Border Patrol's Bovino agrees to return to court daily, as he and federal judge talk body cams, tear gas, IDs

The top U.S. Border Patrol commander spent an hour on the stand Tuesday, responding to U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis' concerns about how federal agents have handled themselves, people they’ve detaine...

chicago.suntimes.com

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Tina Sfondeles @tinasfon.bsky.social · 3d

Judge Ellis ordered Bovino to come into her courtroom every day at 6 p.m. to provide a report on CBP activities until the TRO ends. She continued a motion filed by plaintiffs to stop the use of tear gas: "If they are using tear gas they better be able to back it up..."

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Tina Sfondeles @tinasfon.bsky.social · 3d

Judge Ellis asks Bovino if he has a body worn camera. He says no. "How about by Friday you get one for yourself?" Ellis asks. Bovino says, "We can get that... and the training."

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Tina Sfondeles @tinasfon.bsky.social · 3d

Judge Ellis: "I would like you to do your best to ensure that everybody who is operating under this Midway Blitz Operation, that they all wear body worn cameras." Bovino responds, "Yes, ma'am."

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Tina Sfondeles @tinasfon.bsky.social · 3d

Judge Ellis: "So, kids dressed in Halloween costumes, walking to a parade, do not pose an immediate threat to the safety of a law enforcement officer. They just don't." Bovino did not react.

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Tina Sfondeles @tinasfon.bsky.social · 3d

Judge Sara Ellis has been reading the TRO line by line to Bovino on the stand, and commenting on what she's seen: "You've got to leave journalists alone. If they're doing their job, they need to be left alone to do their job."

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Tina Sfondeles @tinasfon.bsky.social · 3d

Bovino just walked into the courtroom. Hearing set to begin at 10 a.m. He is wearing his usual Border Patrol green uniform.

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Tina Sfondeles @tinasfon.bsky.social · 3d

Follow @jonseidel.bsky.social and I for updates today from the Dirksen Federal courthouse, where Border Patrol's Gregory Bovino is expected to appear. Here's a picture of protestors at the courthouse's entrance. It's unclear whether Bovino will go through this entrance.

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Reposted by Tina Sfondeles

@SZReports @szreports.bsky.social · 14d

If you want to know what’s going on in Chicago with ICE/DHS — read this excellent piece by
@tinasfon.bsky.social
@jonseidel.bsky.social

And thank the journalists who are documenting events on the ground!

(No paywall at Chicago Sun-Times/Chicago Public Media)

chicago.suntimes.com/the-watchdog...

Ex-CBP chief details 'unreasonable use of force,' ICE cites 'brazen' hostility in dueling lawsuit narratives

Records placed in front of U.S. District Judge April Perry by Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, City Hall and by the Trump administration offer a behind-the-scenes snapshot from law enforcement a...

chicago.suntimes.com

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Reposted by Tina Sfondeles

Jon Seidel @jonseidel.bsky.social · 14d

'It's clear that [Illinois State Police] is the difference maker.'

That's what a Chicago ICE official wrote in an email, among hundreds of docs considered by Judge April Perry as she blocked Nat Guard deployment here.

@tinasfon.bsky.social and I took a look: chicago.suntimes.com/the-watchdog...

Ex-CBP chief details 'unreasonable use of force,' ICE cites 'brazen' hostility in dueling lawsuit narratives

Records placed in front of U.S. District Judge April Perry by Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, City Hall and by the Trump administration offer a behind-the-scenes snapshot from law enforcement a...

chicago.suntimes.com

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Tina Sfondeles @tinasfon.bsky.social · 21d

Posing as a TV reporter clad with body armor, Gov. JB Pritzker on Thursday mocked the Trump administrative narrative that National Guard troops are needed to quell chaos in “war-torn Chicago” in a bit for ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”

chicago.suntimes.com/illinois-gov...

Reporting in 'war-torn' Chicago, Gov. Pritzker mocks Trump's 'hellhole' narrative on Jimmy Kimmel

The governor filmed the video in downtown Chicago on Thursday afternoon around 4 p.m., as proceedings were underway at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse in the lawsuit filed by Illinois and Chicago again...

chicago.suntimes.com

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Reposted by Tina Sfondeles

Jon Seidel @jonseidel.bsky.social · 21d

JUDGE TO TRUMP'S TROOPS: RETREAT

Today's @chicago.suntimes.com front page story on Judge April Perry's ruling blocking National Guard deployment, w/ @tinasfon.bsky.social: chicago.suntimes.com/donald-trump...

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Reposted by Tina Sfondeles

L Forte @lforte26.bsky.social · 21d

Must-read from my former colleagues Jon Seidel @jonseidel.bsky.social & Tina Sfondeles @tinasfon.bsky.social on ruling keeping military out of #Chicago #NotroopsinChicago chicago.suntimes.com/donald-trump...

Federal judge hits Trump administration credibility in siding with city and state against National Guard deployment

Judge's order bars 'federalization and deployment of the National Guard of the United States within Illinois' for at least 14 days.

chicago.suntimes.com

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Reposted by Tina Sfondeles

Jon Seidel @jonseidel.bsky.social · 22d

#BREAKING A federal judge say she will grant "in part" a request by the state of Illinois for a temporary restraining order against the deployment of National Guard troops into the state.

U.S. District Judge April Perry is still ruling and has not outlined the details of her order.

Jon Seidel @jonseidel.bsky.social · 22d

Perry: "I'm going to issue an oral ruling."

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Tina Sfondeles @tinasfon.bsky.social · 25d

As former Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. stages a comeback that will upend the open race for the 2nd Congressional District, his competitors are prepared to pounce on his past.

Jackson Jr., 60, plans to announce his run for the seat this week.

chicago.suntimes.com/elections/20...

Jesse Jackson Jr.'s past and future in the spotlight as he jumps back into political life

Jackson Jr., 60, plans to announce his run for the open 2nd Congressional District seat this week, according to his spokesman.

chicago.suntimes.com

Reposted by Tina Sfondeles

Jon Seidel @jonseidel.bsky.social · 25d

National Guard troops could hit Chicago streets as soon as Tuesday after a judge refused Illinois attorneys' plea to immediately block a deployment called “illegal, dangerous and unconstitutional.”

FINAL @chicago.suntimes.com story w/ @tinasfon.bsky.social : chicago.suntimes.com/donald-trump...

Judge refuses to immediately block National Guard deployment to Illinois

A federal judge said Monday she wouldn't hear arguments over Illinois' bid to block the deployment until Thursday, even after a Trump administration lawyer confirmed that Texas troops are on their way...

chicago.suntimes.com

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Tina Sfondeles @tinasfon.bsky.social · Sep 30

President Donald Trump on Tuesday told about 800 of the country’s top military officials that he’s using “dangerous cities as training grounds” for the military and will be going into Chicago “very soon.”
chicago.suntimes.com/donald-trump...

Trump floats using Chicago, other Democrat-led cities as military training ground, troops coming 'very soon'

Trump’s wide-ranging and unprecedented address to military leaders in Quantico, Virginia comes a day after Gov. JB Pritzker said he’ had received word that the Department of Homeland Security wants to...

chicago.suntimes.com

Tina Sfondeles @tinasfon.bsky.social · Sep 29

Gov. JB Pritzker on Monday said the Illinois National Guard has received word that the Department of Homeland Security is seeking the deployment of 100 military troops to Illinois.

chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...

Trump administration asks for 100 'military troops' to deploy in Illinois to protect ICE, Gov. Pritzker says

Pritzker said the Illinois National Guard obtained a memo that the Department of Homeland Security sent to the Defense Department which sought to request 100 military personnel for Illinois.

chicago.suntimes.com

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Tina Sfondeles @tinasfon.bsky.social · Sep 29

Gov. Pritzker says the Illinois National Guard has received word that the Department of Homeland Security has sent a memo to the Department of War seeking the deployment of 100 military troops to Illinois. They are citing the safety of ICE officers as a reason.

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Tina Sfondeles @tinasfon.bsky.social · Sep 9

Katie Abraham, a 20-year-old college student killed in a DUI hit-and-run crash, is at the center of the Trump administration's DHS Chicago deportation campaign.
chicago.suntimes.com/donald-trump...

Who is Katie Abraham, the Illinois native at the center of the latest DHS deportation campaign?

The Abraham family has been vocal about their daughter’s death — and blaming Illinois Democrats for sanctuary policies as they argue that the country needs stricter vetting policies.

chicago.suntimes.com

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