Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s “false rhetoric” about prosecuting Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents is inciting violence, as is Chicago’s “no ICE zone” stance,” according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection Chief Patrol Agent Greg Bovino on Newsmax Saturday.
“It does incite, we know that,” Bovino told Newsmax’s “Saturday Report.”
“That’s false rhetoric. Pritzker knows that it’s false rhetoric,” Bovino added.
However, he said that the Democrat governor’s “weaker-minded constituents” may “act as if what he’s saying is actually true, and that, my friends, is how you incite violence against law enforcement.”
Pritzker on Friday told MSNBC that “We’re looking at all of the options at the local level with county state’s attorneys, with attorneys general to go after people when they’re breaking Illinois law” and said that the agents “ought to be held responsible for breaking local and state laws.”
Bovino warned that such statements put lives at risk, comparing the governor’s comments to playing a dangerous game.
“This is not a blackjack game,” Bovino said, taking a shot at reports that Pritzker won more than $1 million playing cards in Las Vegas.
“These are real lives that he is actually affecting…it’s not a game in Las Vegas that he can happily go play,” Bovino added.
He also blasted Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s declaration of the city being a “no ICE zone,” calling it “an incredible statement” that undermines federal law.
“He’s trying to enact sanctuaries within a city,” Bovino said. “There is no sanctuary in the city.”
He added that Johnson knows that federal law trumps state and local law.
“We’re going to go anywhere in that city we need to go,” he said.
“Illegal aliens and other criminals are going to think those signs somehow protect them, and it puts law enforcement at risk simply because they put a sign up that means nothing,” Bovino added.
Bovino’s comments came amid reports that Mexican cartels and gangs are offering bounties on federal agents, ranging from $2,000 to $50,000, for information or photos of their families.
He said the development highlights the growing alliance between cartels and U.S.-based street gangs.
“I am definitely concerned about the bounties as well as those cartels and those street gangs working together to harm Border Patrol agents, ICE agents, and our allied law enforcement teams,” Bovino said.
“The fact that there’s a bounty on the heads of law enforcement shows that the rule of law, due to the past four years of unmitigated illegal immigration, is having a very negative effect,” he added.
Judges are also “legislating from the bench,” with courtrooms in Chicago and Los Angeles ordering protective barriers removed from ICE facilities, said Bovino.
“You’ve got judges, you’ve got out-of-control politicians, and it’s almost as if they were working with those street gangs, those cartels, and the people that want to hurt law enforcement,” he said.
“All we’re trying to do is make our communities a safer place and our nation a safer nation.”
Bovino, meanwhile, praised the success of Operation Midway Blitz, a recent enforcement effort in the Chicago area that removed more than 1,500 illegal immigrants from the streets.
He said, despite political resistance, the operation showed the dedication of agents working to restore safety in local communities.
“Our brave men and women are doing the work that keeps Americans safe,” Bovino said, adding that political pushback from state leaders “doesn’t change the fact that enforcing the law saves lives.”
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