Federal judge sharply criticizes immigration crackdown tactics in Chicago

Amna Nawaz:

A federal judge in Chicago today issued a sharp rebuke of the Trump administration's immigration enforcement tactics, saying federal officers used force against protesters and members of the media that — quote — "shock the conscience."

Judge Sara Ellis said she saw little reason for the force currently used and extended restrictions on federal agents that she issued last month. Chicago has been at the epicenter of the administration's crackdown. Just yesterday, multiple armed ICE agents arrested a day care worker in front of children, pulling her out of the building and forcibly detaining her.

Late last month, they disrupted a suburban Halloween parade, deploying tear gas and arresting several people as parents and children watched. And agents have used aggressive tactics like pulling this man out of his car, wrestling him to the ground and punching him repeatedly during an arrest last week after he collided with the rear of a Border Patrol vehicle.

For more on all this, I'm joined now by Heather Cherone of WTTW, Chicago's PBS station.

Heather, good to see you. Thanks for joining us.

Heather Cherone, WTTW:

Happy to be here.

Amna Nawaz:

So, Judge Ellis' decision followed an eight-hour hearing yesterday, when she heard testimony from multiple people. What should we understand about what led to her decision and those really sharp words she had for the Trump administration?

Heather Cherone:

Well, Judge Ellis spent the bulk of the 90 minutes she spent speaking from the bench painstakingly detailed some of the testimony she heard during that marathon hearing yesterday.

She spoke about how regular Chicagoans had come out to exercise their First Amendment rights and found themselves in one particular case staring down the barrel of the gun. She said that she could see no reason for the actions of the Trump administration and said that they were just simply not credible when they told her that they had been sort of targeted by a coordinated violent mob.

Instead, she said it was just regular Chicagoans, moms in some case, who had come out to protect the most vulnerable of their neighbors and friends.

Amna Nawaz:

Judge Ellis even at one point accused one of the senior Border Patrol officials, a man named Gregory Bovino, of lying about their own tactics and the protesters' actions. What was that about?

Heather Cherone:

She had very critical remarks about what Gregory Bovino told her. And, remember, he's really become the face of President Trump's mass deportation efforts.

She said that he admitted that he lied when he said that he had been struck in the head with a rock before deploying tear gas against a crowd in Little Village, which is really the heart of Chicago's Mexican-American community. She also said that he lied when he denied using force against a protester, when he was captured on video tackling that man.

Even after he was allowed to see that video during his deposition, he denied that he used force against that man, saying instead the man whom he tackled had used force against him.

Amna Nawaz:

And, Heather, we know Chicago and the surrounding areas have really been a focal point for the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. Why is that? What should we understand about that?

Heather Cherone:

Well, dating back for more than a decade, President Trump has held up Chicago as the epitome of all of America's urban ills. He has long been at odds with Governor J.B. Pritzker, who is, of course, weighing a bid for president in 2028.

He has repeatedly demeaned Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson. And there was no doubt in anybody's mind in Chicago that, once Trump returned to the White House in January, it was just a matter of time before he targeted Chicago, even though Chicago wasn't first on his list. That went to Los Angeles, where also Gregory Bovino was leading the charge in that immigration enforcement operation.

Amna Nawaz:

Meanwhile, related to this, we should note this week there was another federal judge who ordered authorities to improve conditions inside a Chicago area ICE detention facility after a group of detainees actually sued.

What were those detainees alleging and what did the judge order?

Heather Cherone:

Well, the detainees told the judge that they were kept in essentially deplorable conditions. They were not fed a single hot meal. They were not provided with soap. The women were not provided with menstrual products. And they said they were essentially kept in a giant room, forced to sleep one on top of the other.

Judge Robert Gettleman ruled in their favor, saying that the Trump administration must do more to improve the conditions in the facility, which is in a suburb about 13 miles west of downtown Chicago. That facility has long been a transfer point for people with undocumented statuses between one hearing or next or on their way to being deported.

It was never intended to hold people for extended periods of time. However, that is how the Trump administration has been using that facility. And the judge said before he ruled that it essentially amounted to a prison.

Amna Nawaz:

All right, that is Heather Cherone of WTTW, that's Chicago's PBS station, joining us tonight.

Heather, thank you. It's good to speak with you.

Heather Cherone:

Thank you.