Border Patrol spotted with guns on Chicago River in Trump's latest deportation push

At least two Border Patrol boats carrying uniformed armed officers cruised through downtown along the Chicago River Thursday toward in the fed's latest show of force as part of Operation Midway Blitz.

The boats — one of which carried at least seven Border Patrol officers armed with long guns — could be seen passing through the river near Dearborn and State streets before heading toward the Chicago Harbor Lock.

"It's an escalation of tension," said Colin Smalley, president of local 777 of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, the union that represents the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers employees who man the harbor lock separating the river from Lake Michigan.

A government communication sent Wednesday and reviewed by the Sun-Times showed that a request was made to have several Border Patrol and ICE boats and vehicles use the Chicago Harbor Lock as part of Operation Midway Blitz.

The marine units were expected to arrive to the harbor lock around mid-day, the communication noted. A Sun-Times reporter spotted the units near the lock shortly after 1 p.m.

ICE and Border Patrol officials didn't immediately respond to requests for comment about the operation.

But Greg Bovino, the chief patrol agent for the U.S. Border Patrol El Centro sector, said in an interview with the right-wing media outlet Breitbart that the agency had moved four boats into area waterways to be able to more swiftly respond to threats. Bovino, who oversaw the agency's aggressive actions in Los Angeles, has been in Chicago since at least last week.

Smalley, however questioned whether the boats were needed. Immigration and border security issues haven’t come up in meetings of a harbor safety committee that includes people from different government agencies.

"That's not an unmet need that we have here in Chicago," Smalley said. "It's not like the city of Chicago or the state of Illinois are struggling to enforce laws on our waterways, and so the presence of these guys by itself is escalatory."

ICE activity also has caught the attention of tourists.

Connor, a tourist from the United Kingdom on his first trip to Chicago, almost didn’t come after reading the headlines about ICE activity in the city. He said his cousin who lives in the city convinced him, telling him “it wasn’t that bad” in the Loop.

Connor, who didn't want to provide his last name, said during his visit, which has consisted of lots of time downtown and staying in Logan Square, he hasn’t seen much — and that the ICE footage downtown seemed to be more about media attention than enforcement.

“I was quite close to not coming,” he told a reporter on the riverwalk Thursday afternoon. “It seems not as bad as the headlines make it seem.”

In another sign Trump's immigration campaign is ramping up, U.S. Border Patrol Chief Michael Banks posted on social media Thursday that he also had arrived in the city.

"Landed in Chicago!" his post on X read.

Smalley labeled the move as a "conspicuous demonstration."

"I think it's designed to be chilling," Smalley said. "I think it's designed to take one of the gems of our city ... another good, another public value we have here in Chicago. The President has not been shy about his hatred for our city and he's pushing limits."