CHICAGO – A federal judge presiding over a case regarding immigration agents' use of force in the city placed sweeping limitations on their tactics, calling justifications for their use of chemical weapons and other force "simply not true."

U.S. District Judge Sara L. Ellis’ ruling comes amid President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement crackdown known as Operation Midway Blitz. Many Chicagoans have complained about federal authorities' use of chemical agents and raids in residential areas. A group of journalists, clergy and protesters filed a lawsuit saying agents' tactics scare people from exercising free speech rights.

Speaking from the bench, Ellis disparaged numerous examples government lawyers had cited of violence agents face. Federal officials say tactics such as chemical weapons are needed to handle "rioters" in Chicago.

"Describing neighborhood moms as professional agitators shows just how out of touch these agents are and how incredible their views are," Ellis said. "Overall this calls into question everything the defendants say they’re doing and their characterization of events."

Among requirements, Ellis' order compels agents to issue warnings before using chemical weapons, limits their use of such force to extreme circumstances and compels them to use body-worn cameras.

The limitations are similar to ones detailed in a temporary restraining order Ellis issued in October that was set to expire on Nov. 6. Ellis added restrictions aimed at curbing incidents detailed in testimony on Nov. 5, including multiple instances of women who recorded immigration authorities being later stopped at gunpoint by the federal agents.

Lawyers for defendants including Trump, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino are expected to appeal Ellis' order. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has previously moved against Ellis, barring her from calling Bovino into court for daily reports.

Ellis’ ruling remains in effect until a final decision is reached in the case. The order is called a preliminary injunction. The judge said she would issue a written ruling later in the day.

Civil rights attorneys, including from the ACLU of Illinois and firm Loevy & Loevy, represented plaintiffs in the class action lawsuit.

The Northern District of Illinois judge is the latest to question Homeland Security’s account of events amid the blitz operation.

In a case over whether Trump could send the National Guard to Chicago, U.S. District Judge April M. Perry asked whether Homeland Security officials were "tethered to reality." Government lawyers argued a rebellion is underway in Illinois. The case is before the Supreme Court.

'Bovino admitted that he lied,' judge says

Judge Ellis slammed the credibility of the testimony Homeland Security officials offered.

Among cases she cited was an instance where Bovino justified using tear gas during a raid on a prominent Chicago Mexican neighborhood by saying that he was hit in the head with a rock. In a five-hour deposition Bovino gave for the case, the Border Patrol chief walked back his statement, saying he was hit in the head after he deployed tear gas.

"Defendant Bovino admitted that he lied, he admitted that he lied," Ellis said.

The judge also took issue with the chief’s characterization of agents' use of force. In his deposition, lawyers played Bovino clips of him tackling protesters. The Border Patrol veteran denied using force.

"I did not tackle him, I placed him under arrest," Bovino said. "The use of force was against me."

Ellis said the chief "obviously tackles and attacks" the protester.

Court questions second Border Patrol official

Government lawyers called one witness to the stand in the case: Border Patrol Supervisory Agent Hewson, a veteran of the agency who also accompanied Bovino for his crackdown on the Los Angeles area over the summer.

Hewson was expected to provide firsthand testimony to the violence agents face from Chicagoans opposed to immigration enforcement, including during a raid on the Mexican neighborhood and at a protest outside an immigration enforcement facility in the suburbs.

"The body cam footage did not show anything that warranted agents going out to attack the protesters," Ellis said of the scene from the suburban immigration facility.

Hewson’s body-worn camera footage shows agents hitting protesters as the Border Patrol veteran gives orders. Hewson testified he said, "Get them." Ellis said she heard something different: "Clearly what he said was hit them."

"There is nothing that plaintiffs set forth in their declarations that defendants rebutted, even with the body cam footage," Ellis said. Declarations are statements given to the court.

Who is Gregory Bovino, the man behind Trump's Midway Blitz?

Border Patrol chief Bovino arrived in Chicago as part of Operation Midway Blitz on Sept. 16, he announced on X, and he quickly became the face of the operation.

He made waves in the city after he and heavily armed agents were seen aboard boats on the Chicago River. Bovino also drew criticism from locals after telling a local radio reporter that immigration agents were arresting people at least partly based on "how they look." Most notably he participated in a high-profile raid that saw agents rappelling from Black Hawk helicopters to storm a South Side apartment building.

Bovino is frequently seen wearing his green Border Patrol uniform. He speaks with a distinct Carolina accent.

According to LinkedIn, Bovino has been with Customs and Border Protection for around 30 years, the entirety of his professional career. His first agent-in-charge posting came at the Imperial Beach Border Patrol Station in San Diego. His most recent posting before commander-at-large was as the chief patrol agent of the El Centro Sector, also in California.

Bovino graduated with a master’s in public administration from Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, in 1996. He earned a master’s in national security strategy from the National War College in Washington, D.C., in 2008, the LinkedIn page says.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Chicago judge issues ruling limiting Trump Midway Blitz agents’ use of force tactics

Reporting by Michael Loria, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect