Justice Department Says Filming Immigration Raids Is 'Domestic Terrorism'

First Amendment

Autumn Billings | 12.26.2025 10:00 AM

After leaving the Chicago area in November, U.S. Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino made an unexpected return on December 16, along with several hundred federal agents and a film crew. Returning to the same aggressive tactics that sparked protests earlier this year, local officials criticized Bovino for using immigration operations as a form of political theater. 

In a statement to the Chicago Sun-Times, a spokesperson for Democratic Mayor Brandon Johnson called out agents for allegedly arresting people indiscriminately and without arrest warrants. The mayor's office also criticized them for filming the raids and "[turning] these operations into a spectacle."

"This activity is occurring alongside a film crew, which appears to be using these raids to create content at the expense of traumatizing families,"

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