By Ted Hesson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump’s top immigration enforcer in Chicago could leave as soon as this week and travel next to Charlotte, North Carolina, one current U.S. official and two former officials said.
Gregory Bovino, a U.S. Border Patrol official who has led Trump’s aggressive crackdown in Chicago since September, has plans to head to New Orleans later this year, the current official said, citing internal documents.
The scope of any immigration enforcement operations in Charlotte or New Orleans remained unclear. Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which oversees Border Patrol, said the department would not cease operations in Chicago but declined to comment on possible actions in other cities.
The offices of Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles and New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell – both Democrats – did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Trump, a Republican, has focused on ramping up immigration arrests in Democratic-led cities, with major pushes in recent months in Chicago, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.
Border Patrol agents under Bovino’s command in Chicago have helped increase immigration arrests, but Democrats and some residents say they have used excessive force, including deploying tear gas in busy urban areas.
Bovino also faced criticism in Los Angeles, where he was the top Border Patrol official overseeing immigration sweeps that triggered large-scale protests.
A Chicago-based federal judge barred immigration agents from using some aggressive tactics and ordered them to wear body cameras after videos cited in a lawsuit showed violent clashes with protesters.
In a sworn deposition related to the case, Bovino admitted that he lied about being hit in the head with a rock before he tossed a tear gas canister in a predominantly Mexican neighborhood, instead saying he was hit afterward.
CBS News first reported Bovino’s plans to leave Chicago and possible focus on Charlotte.
(Reporting by Ted Hesson; Editing by Craig Timberg and Cynthia Osterman)
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