Federal Officials Defend Use of Tear Gas in Chicago Immigration Crackdown

A federal judge questioned the officials on Monday as part of a lawsuit in which protesters and others say that their constitutional rights have been violated.

Federal officials defended their use of tear gas and other crowd-control munitions against protesters in the Chicago area, asserting on Monday that they had limited their use to whenever there was an immediate threat to agents. The officials also told a judge, in a court hearing, that they had complied with her recent order requiring federal agents to give warnings to protesters and others before using tear gas.

The hearing, before Judge Sara L. Ellis of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, was the first face-to-face courtroom exchange between a federal judge and a Department of Homeland Security official about tactics used in President Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration in the Chicago area, which began in early September.

Protesters, journalists and members of the clergy have filed a lawsuit accusing federal agents of violating their constitutional rights during the crackdown, using pepper balls, pepper spray and tear gas with little or no warning to disperse crowds.

Judge Ellis, who was nominated by President Barack Obama, found the plaintiffs’ case to be credible enough to issue a temporary order on Oct. 9 banning the use of tear gas and other munitions against protesters throughout the Chicago area “who are not posing an immediate threat.”

Last week, Judge Ellis said that she was “profoundly concerned” about reports of excessive use of force by the government, and ordered Trump administration officials to come to court to answer her questions. After a hearing that lasted more than four hours on Monday, she issued no ruling on whether federal agents had violated her order.

During the hearing, federal officials were questioned about two recent clashes between residents and agents. One of those clashes occurred on Oct. 12 in the Albany Park neighborhood on the city’s Northwest Side, when agents stopped a resident and a crowd formed. Tear gas was used. Another confrontation happened two days later on the South Side, when agents fired tear gas into a crowd that had gathered after a car crash involving federal agents.

Kyle C. Harvick, an official with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, told the court that he was not present at either of the incidents, but said that it was his understanding that agents at the scene had given warnings and had legitimate concerns about their own safety. The use of tear gas was necessary for officers to leave the scene, he said, which “becomes more dangerous the longer we are there.”

Protesters who were present have said in court filings that no warnings were given before tear gas filled the air. They have also said in filings that there had been “assaults on journalists by federal agents,” including pepper balls shot through the open window of a marked press van with a CBS News reporter inside. That episode is reportedly under criminal investigation by the Illinois State Police.

Judge Ellis said the plaintiffs in the lawsuit would be allowed later to depose Gregory Bovino, who has taken on a highly visible role in immigration enforcement campaigns in Los Angeles and Chicago, along with two other administration officials. She also said the government would have to produce a small number of incident reports that are filed by officers who use tear gas and other munitions.

Judge Ellis also questioned Shawn Byers, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement official, about a member of the clergy who had told the court that he was hit with seven pepper balls without warning while protesting outside an ICE facility in a Chicago suburb.

Mr. Byers disputed the account. “He was given multiple commands to remove himself from government property,” he said. “I’ve seen the video footage from our surveillance cameras.”

Judge Ellis said she expected officials to preserve any footage.

Related Content