Court pauses order requiring CBP Chief Bovino to meet with judge daily on immigration operations

CHICAGO (WLS) -- The U.S. Department of Justice has appealed a federal judge's order that mandated Customs and Border Protection Commander-at-Large Greg Bovino to check-in with the judge daily to ensure compliance with a temporary restraining order that restricted federal agents' use of force.

The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals put a pause on the matter, just about an hour before Bovino was supposed to have his first daily check-in with federal Judge Sara Ellis.

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The first meeting with Judge Ellis was set to be an opportunity for the judge to review with Commander Bovino any use of force incidents that may have taken place between Border Patrol agents and residents.

One of the incidents that could come up is one that happened in Aurora Wednesday morning, where agents appear to have pepper sprayed a woman's vehicle with her two young children inside.

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Cell phone video taken outside an Aurora grocery store Wednesday morning showed Elizabeth Pineda moments after federal agents appear to have shot pepper bullets at her vehicle's windshield. Her two young children were in the backseat of the car.

Speaking to ABC7 shortly after leaving Mercy Hospital Wednesday, Pineda, who is a member of Aurora's rapid response team, recounted what happened shortly after she pulled into the grocery store, attracted by the whistles used to alert residents of agents' presence in the area. She admits she was unwittingly blocking one of the agents' vehicles in.

"He decides to back up and tell me that I need to get the **** out, or I'm going to get arrested," Pineda said. "There's agents coming at me. All I hear is them shooting. I thought they were hitting my windshield, I didn't think they were actually shooting at me until everything happened."

It was just Tuesday when Judge Ellis ordered Border Patrol Commander Bovino to make sure his agents have their body-worn cameras rolling during all encounters with the public, while also having their identifiers clearly visible on at least two locations. This comes as she seeks to enforce a temporary restraining order that forbids all federal agents participating in Operation Midway Blitz from using chemical agents when their physical safety is not in danger and without giving at least two clear warnings about what they are about to do.

"They didn't acknowledge that my kids were in the car. I had no form of weapon in order for them to attack me how they did," Pineda said. "No cameras were visible. No numbers were visible. They did have their badges, but I couldn't make it out."

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While it's still not clear what agency the officers involved belong to, the incident illustrates the type of encounter that Judge Ellis was expected to bring up at the daily meetings she had ordered Border Patrol Commander Bovino to have with her between now and November 5, in hopes of getting clarity on the tactics being used by federal agents in the area each day. However, the first scheduled meeting between the two was canceled Wednesday after the appellate court ordered a stay on the matter.

The appeal from the Department of Justice is accusing the federal judge of overreach and micromanaging.

"So he doesn't have to show up unless and until the appellate court rules on that question," ABC7 Chief Legal Analyst Gil Soffer said. "The appellate court wants to get a briefing on it and consider it before it makes a decision ultimately on whether Bovino has to appear regularly so its putting a pause... the court is putting a pause on things."

Bovino appeared on Fox News earlier Wednesday in anticipation of that first meeting.

"If she wants to meet with me every day then she's going to see, she's going to have a very good first hand look at just how bad things really are on the streets of Chicago... we've never been in violation of any TRO, any regulation," Bovino said. "We're going to speed those apprehensions up, and no, we are going to go harder. We go harder now. I'm not worried about it at all."

Regardless of the Department of Justice's appeal on the the judge's decision to have Bovino appear before her daily in court, Bovino is already scheduled to be back in court Thursday at 10 a.m. to sit for what is expected to be a five-hour deposition regarding his agency's use of force practices in Chicago.

Gov. Pritzker makes plea to DHS Sec. Noem ahead of Halloween

ABC7 Chicago obtained a letter late Wednesday sent by Illinois Governor JB Pritzker to U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

In it, he asks them to suspend immigration enforcement operations over the weekend so children can celebrate Halloween.

This comes just days after tear gas appeared to be dropped on the city's Northwest Side as children were attending a Halloween parade.

DHS said in a statement Thursday:

"It is reckless, unlawful, and extremely irresponsible for parents to interfere with law enforcement activities but especially when they are accompanied by children.

"That was the case when ICE officers working in Aurora, Illinois on Oct. 29 were attempting to conduct an immigration enforcement arrest in a parking lot when they were boxed in by two vehicles. These vehicles refused to move as an approaching crowd blowing whistles surrounded ICE's vehicle.

"ICE officers warned the driver of a vehicle to move and to clear the area. The driver refused to move, and officers deployed the Pepperball Launching System (PLS) to the vehicle. The driver opened the door and exited the vehicle. Officers briefly detained her, and she claimed to have her kids in the car. Officers instructed her to move the vehicle, or she would be arrested for obstructing. She then complied and ICE officers were able to depart.

"ICE will continue to perform their lawful mission regardless of the various attempts to disrupt or interfere. ICE's mission is clear and unchanged: protect the homeland by enforcing immigration law, targeting and removing criminals and fugitives, and upholding the sovereignty of the United States. The agency's enforcement actions are guided by law, driven by public safety, and executed with professionalism and precision."

ABC News contributed to this report.