Mexican cartel ‘bounty system’ targets immigration officers in Chicago, feds claim

Image: ICE

Federal officials say they have uncovered credible intelligence that Mexican criminal organizations are offering cash rewards to anyone who targets U.S. immigration officers, including agents stationed in Chicago. But the announcement comes as at least one federal judge publicly questioned the reliability of the Department of Homeland Security’s version of recent immigration enforcement incidents across the city.

According to a DHS bulletin published Tuesday, cartel-linked networks operating out of Mexico are coordinating with domestic extremists and street gangs to monitor, harass, and attack federal immigration personnel. The department said gang members in neighborhoods such as Pilsen and Little Village have acted as rooftop “spotters” equipped with radios and firearms to track Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) vehicles during “Operation Midway Blitz.”

The document alleges that Mexican cartels have circulated a tiered bounty system offering $2,000 for information on federal agents or their families, $5,000 to $10,000 for assaults or kidnappings, and as much as $50,000 for assassinations of senior officials. DHS officials said the initiative represents an organized attempt to “terrorize” federal law enforcement officers.

“These criminal networks are not just resisting the rule of law, they are waging an organized campaign of terror against the brave men and women who protect our borders and communities,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said. “Our agents are facing ambushes, drone surveillance, and death threats, all because they dare to enforce the laws passed by Congress. We will not back down from these threats, and every criminal, terrorist, and illegal alien will face American justice.”

DHS also accused so-called “Antifa-aligned” groups in Chicago and Portland of aiding cartel affiliates by staging protests, obstructing deportation operations, and “doxxing” federal agents. The department urged the public to report any suspicious rooftop surveillance or organized efforts to block federal operations to the ICE tip line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE.

Last week, federal prosecutors charged a Chicago man, whom they identified as a high-ranking Latin King gang member, with putting a $10,000 bounty on the head of Gregory Bovinio, the commander in charge of the local immigration enforcement surge.

Federal credibility questioned

Even as DHS issued its warning, several recent court rulings and incidents have cast doubt on the department’s credibility in describing its immigration enforcement activities.

Last week, U.S. District Judge April Perry said the Department of Justice’s legal arguments in favor of deploying the National Guard in Chicago appeared to be part of “a growing body of evidence that DHS’ version of events are unreliable.” Perry said the administration’s descriptions of immigration protests “cannot be aligned” with the accounts of local and state law enforcement submitted in court filings.

Justice Department attorney Eric Hamilton, who argued in favor of the deployment, cited recent arrests of protesters and incidents involving federal agents to justify the need for Guard deployment. But several of those examples have since unraveled.

For instance, Hamilton pointed to the arrests of a couple accused of assaulting officers during a protest. Both individuals were licensed concealed-carry holders. A federal grand jury later declined to indict them.

Separately, controversy erupted two weekends ago after a CBP agent shot a woman in Brighton Park during an altercation with drivers who agents said were “following and boxing in” federal vehicles. DHS characterized the incident as a coordinated attempt to disrupt enforcement operations. But according to the woman’s attorney, body-camera footage contradicts that account and captures an agent shouting “do something b****” before an agent shot the woman. Both the woman and another driver were arrested, charged, and later ordered released by a judge.

Perry cited that discrepancy along with dropped charges against several protesters, a temporary restraining order against ICE limiting arrests of journalists and peaceful demonstrators, and a separate ruling that ICE violated a consent decree banning warrantless arrests as examples of inconsistencies in the government’s narrative.

“So to summarize, in the last 48 hours, in four separate unrelated legal decisions from four different neutral parties, they all cast doubt on DHS’s version of events,” Perry said from the bench last week.

Perry also noted that the Trump administration had activated National Guard units the same weekend a senior immigration official in Broadview described as a “great weekend” in an internal email, citing successful cooperation with Illinois State Police, Broadview Police, and the Cook County Sheriff’s Office to secure federal property with fencing and joint command structures.

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