Chicago immigration officers ordered to wear body cams amid protests

CHICAGO, United States (MNTV) — A US federal judge has ordered immigration officers in the Chicago area to begin wearing body cameras following clashes in which agents reportedly used tear gas and other chemical weapons against protesters.

Judge Sara L. Ellis issued the ruling Thursday after recent confrontations between immigration agents and residents on the city’s Southeast Side.

The decision expands on her October 9 temporary restraining order, which restricted the use of non-lethal weapons by federal officers.

“I am profoundly concerned about what has been happening over the last week, since I entered this order,” Ellis said in court, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

“I live in Chicago, if folks haven’t noticed. And I’m not blind.”

The ruling comes amid President Donald Trump’s “Operation Midway Blitz,” an ongoing immigration enforcement campaign in the Chicago area that the administration says targets “the worst of the worst” offenders.

Ellis’s October 16 order modifies an earlier ruling issued in response to a lawsuit filed by clergy members, protesters, and journalists who accused federal agents of unjustly using chemical weapons outside a suburban immigration facility.

One incident cited in court involved a viral video showing an agent firing a pepper ball at Rev. David Black, a local pastor.

In her filings, Ellis described the attack as an “unprovoked use of force” and said the deployment of chemical agents likely “constituted excessive force.”

The court order also requires agents across the Chicago region to wear visible identification and issue two verbal warnings before using chemical weapons.