Homan defends Border Patrol official deposed over Chicago tear gas use

A senior Border Patrol official testified in court over the use of tear gas during an immigration operation in Chicago. Border czar Tom Homan defends the chief’s actions.

“He’s a professional. He’s a patriot. And I believe he’ll do well in court,” Homan said Tuesday on The Faulkner Focus.

Greg Bovino, chief of the Border Control sector in El Centro, California, is accused of distributing tear gas canisters to protesters earlier this month.

This came after complaints of excessive force and a judge’s restraining order limiting riot control techniques against peaceful protesters and the press.

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Homan argued that agents used tools such as tear gas and pepper spray for protection.

“I wouldn’t call these crowd control measures. These are precautions they have to take because they’re being attacked, because people are obstructing what ICE is trying to do,” he said.

Anti-ICE protesters frequently gathered outside the ICE facility in Broadview, Illinois, clashing with agents. Homan argued that people gathered outside the facility should not be labeled as protesters.

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Border Czar Tom Homan walks toward reporters outside the White House in Washington, D.C., on May 5. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

“Protesters have the right to protest, we support that. But when they cross that line, when they throw weapons, when they throw objects at ICE, when they attack or impede the movement of ICE officers, when they prevent them from leaving the building while they have a detainee in their possession, that’s where you have to draw the line,” he said.

The shootings unfolded as the Trump administration conducted “Operation Midway Blitz,” an enforcement effort that led to the arrests of more than 1,000 immigrants across Illinois. Local and state officials have pushed back against the increased ICE presence.

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker accused the agents of racially profiling and detaining both illegal immigrants and legal U.S. citizens.

“We want the bad guys off the streets,” Pritzker said in the “Special Report” in October.

U.S. Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino leads his team as they confront demonstrators outside an immigrant processing center in Broadview, Illinois, on September 27. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

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“We don’t want people to be racially profiled. That’s what’s happening right now.”

Administration officials vehemently denied the governor’s allegations.