Customs and Border Patrol Commander-at-large Greg Bovino and his team are eyeing Charlotte and New Orleans as the next cities for increased immigration enforcement, according to multiple sources. The plans are preliminary and could change, the sources told ABC News. It is unclear if the operations would run simultaneously or if one city would be targeted first.
Bovino has become the on-the-ground face of President Donald Trump’s effort to surge federal law enforcement into blue states and cities, regardless of whether local officials want them there. His presence was first noted in Los Angeles and most recently in Chicago, where aggressive clashes with protesters have sparked ongoing litigation.
The Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office, which serves Charlotte, told CNN that neither its office nor the Charlotte-Mecklenburg police are involved in planning any federal operations and have not been in contact with government officials regarding the reported move. In a statement, the sheriff’s office said, “We have not been contacted by any Customs and Border Protection representatives regarding any potential operations, nor have we been involved in any planning or conversations.”
Meanwhile, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is expected to continue its operations in Chicago. Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told CNN, “We aren’t leaving Chicago,” citing a drop in street crime in the city since Operation Midway Blitz began.
The discussion of Bovino potentially moving on from Chicago comes shortly after he was personally called out by a federal judge. U.S. District Court Judge Sara Ellis expressed anger after Bovino initially said he had deployed tear gas at protesters only after being struck in the head with a rock, but later admitted that the assault occurred after his use of force.
“Defendant Bovino admitted that he lied,” Ellis said during a hearing on November 6, the same day she issued a preliminary injunction blocking the use of force against protesters and journalists “unless such force is objectively necessary to stop an immediate threat of serious bodily injury or death to another person.”
The order also requires agents to warn protesters at least twice before deploying tear gas and less-lethal munitions such as pepper balls. The Trump administration is appealing the injunction and has requested a delay in its enforcement while an appeals court considers the case.
The injunction followed hours of videotaped testimony from Bovino, portions of which were played in court. The clips show Bovino frequently clashing with plaintiffs’ attorneys, describing protesters targeted by riot control measures as “violent rioters and assaultive subjects.”
Bovino also denied tackling a protester named Scott Blackburn, arguing that the incident captured on camera did not qualify as a “reportable use of force” because Blackburn was being arrested at the time. Judge Ellis was unimpressed by this distinction.
“In one of the videos, Defendant Bovino obviously attacks and tackles the declarant, Mr. Blackburn, to the ground,” she stated.
President Trump has previously mentioned New Orleans as a potential location for the federal crackdown. In an Oval Office meeting earlier this year, he said, “We are making a determination. Do we go to Chicago? Do we go to a place like New Orleans, where we have a great governor, Jeff Landry, who wants us to come in and straighten out a very nice section of this country that’s become, you know, quite tough, quite bad?”
CNN contributed to this report.
https://abc11.com/post/border-patrol-commander-cbp-agents-headed-north-carolina-louisiana-sources-say/18147889/