Chicago U.S. Attorney's Office Loses 7 Section Chiefs After Dozens of Failed Immigration Cases
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Jul 19
Chicago U.S. Attorney's Office Loses 7 Section Chiefs After Dozens of Failed Immigration Cases
2 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jul 19
Summary
All 7 heads of the Chicago office’s criminal division sections have left in the past year after a wave of immigration-related assault cases against protesters and immigrants unraveled.
Dozens of those federal cases stemmed from last fall’s Operation Midway Blitz, when leadership redeployed prosecutors across the division to handle charges some veterans saw as politically pressured and unwinnable.
More than 100 former federal prosecutors recently signed a letter accusing U.S. Attorney Andrew S. Boutros of tarnishing the office’s reputation through actions taken over the past year.
The disruption also reached the office’s structure: Boutros eliminated the stand-alone national security section and moved its work to another unit, deepening concern about a once-prestigious office known for major public-corruption and organized-crime cases.