CHICAGO — Dozens of federal agents reportedly returned to Chicago Tuesday night ahead of a hearing Thursday for a lawsuit focused on his agents’ use of force.
Multiple rapid response groups reported that at least 50 additional immigration enforcement agents arrived in the Chicago area on Tuesday night.
A federal judge is set to hold a hearing Thursday in a lawsuit challenging federal immigration enforcement actions in Chicago, one month after a motion was filed to voluntarily dismiss the case.
The hearing is expected to clarify whether the case will be fully dismissed or narrowed, and what issues, if any, remain unresolved — including pending questions around sealed court records and public access to proceedings tied to Operation Midway Blitz, according to court filings.
In October, Block Club Chicago and organizations representing reporters across the city and state sued the federal government, arguing that immigration agents violated the First Amendment by using tear gas, pepper-balls and other riot-control weapons against journalists and peaceful protesters.
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
The groups were represented pro-bono by attorneys with Loevy + Loevy, the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois and other firms.
The lawsuit resulted in a temporary restraining order requiring federal officials to limit the use of those weapons and other force and to wear badges or other forms of identification.
Later, U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis issued a sweeping, 233-page written opinion that found federal officials not only participated in unnecessary uses of force, but also repeatedly lied and misled the public during the operation.
After a legal battle that put a national spotlight on the Trump administration’s immigration “blitz,” Block Club and other media groups that brought the case announced that they had voluntarily moved to drop it.
That decision came after a panel of judges with the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals paused Ellis’ order restricting agents’ enforcement tactics in November, calling it an “overbroad” encroachment on the powers of the federal executive branch.
Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino is greeted by protesters at a gas station on Green Bay Road in Evanston on Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
The lawsuit will formally end if Ellis grants the motion to dismiss it. The Department of Justice has “indicated that they will move to dismiss the appeal if this court dismisses the case with prejudice” — meaning it can’t be reintroduced — according to court documents.
It’s unknown if officials with the Department of Homeland Security, including Bovino, will be at Thursday’s hearing. Homeland Security did not immediately respond to questions.
Separately, other major Chicago media outlets — including Chicago Public Media, the Sun-Times and the Tribune — have intervened to ask Ellis to unseal a redacted portion of an October hearing’s transcript that reflect proceedings that were closed to the public.
Before ICE Deputy Field Office Director Shawn Byers began his testimony that day, about 30 minutes of conversation between the parties and judge took place out of public view. The outlets argue there has been no on-the-record explanation or compelling justification for keeping a record of that part of the hearing secret, according to court filings.
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story stated that Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino was back in Chicago, per rapid response groups. That was erroneously added by editors and not the reporter of this story. Bovino is not in Chicago and we regret the error.
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