What border are they securing? Trump CBP boats seen patrolling the Chicago River after takeover rhetoric

Border Patrol boats with masked agents carrying rifles sailed on the Chicago River on Thursday near a downtown Trump-branded hotel and tower, prompting criticism from local officials who saw the operation as a glorified photo opportunity, following the president’s repeated threat to send troops to the city.

“It seems like a really cheap photo op for President Trump to flex his ICE muscles with his hotel sign in the background likely,” Alderman Brendan Reilly said at a city council meeting on Thursday. “It’s bizarre, and I really wish the president would focus on more important priorities.”

“I don’t really see how this is helping anyone anywhere,” Mayor Brandon Johnson told reporters Thursday. “It’s just further proof that this administration is only committed to intimidating people.”

Some Chicago residents voiced similar criticisms.

“Chicago has no foreign border. There is no reason to be here, on the river, WITH GUNS, other than to intimidate,” wrote Chicago-based writer Lynn Becker. “Just another calling card for an administration of gangsters.”

The Independent has contacted Border Patrol for comment.

“Where streets end, our Marine Unit begins,” Border Patrol Chief Michael W. Banks wrote on X yesterday, sharing pictures of the craft near the Trump building. “On the Chicago River, CBP leadership stays vigilant. Our ability to patrol on the water extends the reach of enforcement.”

Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino told Breitbart local residents had welcomed the operation.

“I am speaking to residents in and around the downtown area, and I am receiving excellent feedback. Residents are happy to see us in the area, and many have expressed frustration that we didn’t get here sooner,” Bovino said.

The Chicago River doesn’t connect to any U.S. borders, nor does the adjoining Lake Michigan, though Chicago is one of scores of prominent U.S. cities close enough to a border for the Border Patrol to conduct warrantless searches there.

Federal data shows that last month, the Border Patrol apprehended more than 10 times the number of people at the southwest border than the northern one.

The boat operation comes after repeated comments from President Trump that Chicago was “next” up for a National Guard-led crackdown, following similar efforts in Democrat-controlled cities including Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles.

Local and state officials have vocally opposed a National Guard operation, comparing it to an authoritarian takeover and pointing to declining major crime stats.

Immigration officials have been conducting large operations in the Chicago area since earlier this month as part of “Operation Midway Blitz,” arresting more than 500 people.

Chicago residents have protested the operation.

Demonstrators have blocked vehicles, while immigration agents have fired pepper bullets and tear gas into gathered crowds.