Staff Reports
A federal judge in Chicago hauled Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino into court this week, accusing federal agents of deploying tear gas and other crowd-control tactics in ways that may have violated a court order — and she demanded daily accounting of their actions. The judge’s order was an extraordinary rebuke of the administration’s immigration sweep, but an appeals court has temporarily blocked the requirement that Bovino appear in person each weekday while the legal fight plays out.
What Washington calls “Operation Midway Blitz” has led to conflicting numbers and furious debate: DHS and CBP have touted more than a thousand arrests, while local reporting and FOIA data show figures that span the Chicago field office’s six-state footprint and leave the public wondering who exactly is being swept up. The disagreement over basic arrest tallies speaks to a larger problem — the federal government running a high-profile enforcement campaign without a clear, transparent accounting to the communities it impacts.
Let me be blunt: we should stand with the men and women who put their lives on the line to enforce the law, and we should demand the justice system treat our officers fairly rather than reflexively kneecapping them for doing their jobs. At the same time, commanders must operate within the rule of law, and if judges see a pattern of reckless tactics it’s right for the courts to probe — but that probe should not become a political weapon to hobble enforcement when criminals are on the move.
While federal agents argue over tactics, tens of millions of Americans are staring at empty EBT cards: the USDA and multiple outlets warn SNAP funding risks running out on November 1, putting roughly 42 million beneficiaries in jeopardy if Congress doesn’t act. This is the human consequence of elite game-playing in Washington — when lawmakers treat benefits as bargaining chips, ordinary families get squeezed and conservative, blue-collar voters pay the price.
And here is the raw political truth that should make every patriot furious: Democratic leaders have publicly acknowledged they view the shutdown as leverage. House Democrat Whip Katherine Clark said “there will be families … that are going to suffer” but called the pause “one of the few leverage times we have,” while critics point to comments attributed to Chuck Schumer about the political upside of a prolonged shutdown. Americans deserve leaders who protect families, not use them as bargaining chips.
Even establishment media aren’t letting Democrats off the hook: CNN’s Jake Tapper famously pushed back on Rep. Melanie Stansbury after she blamed the White House for looming SNAP cuts, forcing a rare moment of accountability when he pointed out Senate Democrats could vote to end the stalemate. When anchors — historically soft on the left — start pressing the obvious facts, you know the political rot has become impossible to hide.
Meanwhile, Chicago’s left-leaning mayor Brandon Johnson lit yet another fire by attacking a reporter for using the legal term “illegal alien,” even invoking slavery in a tone-deaf attempt to moralize immigration language. That performance — and the city’s ongoing crime problems — underscore a broader reality: Democrats preach compassion while enabling policies that reward lawbreaking and leave law-abiding citizens vulnerable.
If you care about safety, decency, and the rule of law, this is a moment to make your voice heard. Demand accountability in Chicago and in Washington: insist Congress reopen the government, protect SNAP recipients immediately, and back our federal agents when they act lawfully to defend communities from violent criminals. America cannot survive if elected leaders treat suffering as leverage and security as a political afterthought.
