Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino commented on immigration enforcement’s legal win following a federal appeals court reversing a sweeping injunction.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit threw out the preliminary injunction issued by Obama-appointed U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis. The panel called Ellis’ order “overbroad” and “constitutionally suspect,” and said it “effectively established the district court as the supervisor of all Executive Branch activity in the city of Chicago.”
“Chicago efforts vindicated!!! Well done,” he posted on X after the ruling came down. He added: “What’s not suspect is legal, ethical, and moral Border Patrol Agents conducting operations in Chicago. Well done, Border Patrol! TRUTH came through!”
Bovino praised federal agents as “the most highly trained, experienced agency ready to take on expeditionary type missions in the toughest of environments,” and said in a separate post that operations are “conducted with much foresight with the most experienced, proven, and battle hardened agents the Border Patrol has to offer to ensure we WIN every time.”
Ellis had issued a 233-page opinion justifying her injunction following a string of clashes between protesters and federal agents during Operation Midway Blitz, the Trump administration’s push to crack down on illegal immigration and street crime in Chicago. She argued her order was not unusual and only required agents to comply with existing DHS policies on use of force and body-worn cameras.
The appeals panel rejected that framing. The court faulted Ellis for sweeping her injunction across “the entire Departments of Homeland Security and Justice, as well as anyone acting in concert with them” rather than limiting it to specific officers or specific conduct. That breadth, the panel found, crossed constitutional limits.
