A federal judge again Friday ordered agents in Chicago for immigration operations to wear and turn on their body cameras, telling them “that was not a suggestion.”
U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis issued the order Thursday, citing concerns about increasingly violent clashes between federal agents deployed in Operation Midway Blitz and the public, and their use of tear gas against protesters.
Ellis said her order requires any federal agents working under Operation Midway Blitz to wear body cameras and keep them on during all “law enforcement activities.”
In a follow up hearing Friday, as Judge Ellis prepares to hear testimony from Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Monday about their use of tear gas and other deterrents in Chicago’s East Side neighborhood earlier this week, she reiterated her requirement for body cameras.
“Maybe I wasn’t clear yesterday; that wasn’t a suggestion,” she told lawyers for the Trump administration. “I am modifying the temporary restraining order to include body-worn cameras.”
“It’s not up for debate,” she added.
Federal agents at large wear body cameras but federal agents in Chicago have not been.
“This was not a suggestion,” Ellis said in court. “It wasn’t a hint. It wasn’t a topic of discussion or conversation. It was an order. So, I will enter it today and then I will expect that it will be followed.”Â
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security called the ruling an “extreme act of judicial activism.”
Please note: The above video is from an earlier report.