Bovino Leads Caravan Through Chicago Before Clashing With Evanston Mayor

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Bovino Leads Caravan Through Chicago Before Clashing With Evanston Mayor

This is part of our series of daily recaps of ICE activity in the Chicago region. Have a tip we should check out? Email [email protected].

CHICAGO — On his second day back in Chicago, Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino led a large caravan of federal agents as they snaked through the city and suburbs Wednesday, detaining residents and disrupting commutes from Midway to Evanston.

Agents entered the city before 9 a.m. Wednesday, stopping at retailers along South Cicero Avenue on the Southwest Side. Media and immigration enforcement rapid response teams saw agents make multiple arrests near Midway Airport before the caravan drove onto Interstate 55.

The federal agent caravan then made its way up north on DuSable Lake Shore Drive. One rapid responder who had been following the vehicles was pulled over and ticketed, organizers said.

The Chicago Police Department said Wednesday that it responded to an “assist the police call” in that area from an agent who claimed that another driver had attempted to ram a Border Patrol vehicle.

However, the department said that the agent later told responding officers they did not want to pursue enforcement action “and continued on their way.” The driver whom the agent claimed attempted the ramming was also allowed to leave after being stopped and questioned by police.

In a post to the social media platform X, Bovino thanks Chicago and Evanston police for their assistance “in preventing violent mobs from assaulting our law enforcement.”

The Chicago Police department, which is barred from assisting federal immigration enforcement under Chicago’s Welcoming City Ordinance, said that its officers did not aid the Border Patrol’s operations and that an internal review to ensure that officers were in compliance with that policy was ongoing.

Border Patrol agents smash a car window to detain a person during an immigration raid in at the Home Depot Evanston, 2201 Oakton St., on Dec. 17, 2025. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago

Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss approaches chief Gregory Bovino as he and a caravan of Border Patrol agents conduct immigration raids in Evanston at the Mobil gas station, 1950 Green Bay Rd., on Dec. 17, 2025. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago

The agents then made their way to Evanston, where protesters and responders confronted them at a Mobil, 1950 Green Bay Road. At least four people were arrested in Evanston, according to rapid responders.

Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss confronted Bovino and more than a dozen other agents after the arrests were made.

“Evanston is safe in spite of ICE/CBP, not because of it,” Biss wrote on social media. “But I am so proud of our people who showed up and chased you out of town. Don’t come back.”

The area near the gas station had been cordoned off by Evanston Police.

“We’re over here at the gas station on Green Bay due to ICE activity,” said Evanston police commander Ryan Glew. “Right now, we’re responding with our pre-communicated protocols, but we’re in the middle of it right now.”

I would like to thank both Chicago and Evanston Police Departments who provided assistance in preventing violent mobs from assaulting our law enforcement officers as we were conducting Title 8 immigration duties in the area. Both departments cleared the way for us to continue…

— Commander Op At Large CA Gregory K. Bovino (@CMDROpAtLargeCA) December 17, 2025

After leaving the area, the caravan pulled into the parking lot of a Home Depot, 2201 Oakton St., and shattered the window of a man’s car before detaining him. Dozens of rapid responders and Evanston neighbors gathered to protest the action as another man was detained.

There were at least two people taken in total at the Home Depot and Biss made another appearance, sizing up a Border Patrol agent.

“We’re here for Title 8 immigration enforcement,” Bovino told Block Club as he stood outside the retailer with over a dozen agents dressed head-to-toe in military fatigues. “We haven’t counted up everyone we’ve arrested so far.”

Border Patrol agents smash a car window to detain a person during an immigration raid in at the Home Depot Evanston, 2201 Oakton St., on Dec. 17, 2025. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago

A cacophony of whistles and yelling filled the air as Bovino turned his back to reporters and elected officials.

“No more questions,” he said. “I can’t hear you. It’s too loud.”

A smaller group of federal agents in two SUVs pulled up outside of King Spa, 809 Civic Center Dr., around 1:30 p.m. Wednesday. Agents allegedly ripped a rapid responder from her car and arrested her, eyewitnesses said.

The caravan dispersed around 2 p.m.

Wednesday marked Bovino’s second day back on the job in the Chicago area after he left in November. Speaking from the parking lot of a Home Depot in Cicero Tuesday, Bovino said it’s “unknown at this time” how long he will remain in Chicago. He said “several hundred” agents have accompanied him in his return to the area.

About 15 people were detained across Little Village and Brighton Park Tuesday, including a tamalero and day laborers outside of a Home Depot at West 47th Street and South Western Avenue.

A crew of Chicago Police cars stop traffic on Sheridan Road in Edgewater and pull over a driver who was following a caravan of Border Patrol agents driving through Chicago on Dec. 17, 2025. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago

A person records and blows a whistle as a caravan of Border Patrol agents conduct immigration raids in at the Home Depot Evanston, 2201 Oakton St., on Dec. 17, 2025. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago

Happening In Chicago

Around 11 a.m. Wednesday, ICE vehicles were seen along North Lake Shore Drive near Sheridan and Hollywood, according to the Northside Lakefront Rapid Response Team.
The Southwest Side Rapid Response has launched a GoFundMe to support a tamale vendor detained by ICE agents Tuesday in Back of the Yards. Don Federico, 68, was taken by agents as he was selling tamales on the corner of 47th and Hermitage Avenue, according to the rapid response team. Federico, who has asthma and heart problems, has lived in the U.S. for 30 years, according to the campaign page. The fundraiser was at $4,495 of its $8,000 goal as of Wednesday afternoon.
The Resurrection Project is collecting signatures for a petition demanding the release of 22-year-old Federico Alexis Alcantar, who was detained by ICE agents in October and remains in custody in Missouri, according to the project.

Happening In The Suburbs

• About 9:50 a.m Wednesday, ICE agents were spotted at National Street and Route 31 in Elgin, and one person was arrested for drug possession, according to the Elgin Area Rapid Response.