ICE agents have made a startling arrest in Hanover Park, Illinois, nabbing an undocumented immigrant who somehow landed a job as a police officer, complete with a badge, gun, and pension.
As reported by Breitbart News, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained Radule Bojovic, a Montenegrin national, during Operation Midway Blitz, a sweep that has already resulted in nearly 1,000 arrests across the sanctuary state of Illinois.
Bojovic entered the United States on a B-2 tourist visa, with a legal obligation to leave by the end of March 2015. He overstayed that deadline, remaining in the country unlawfully for a decade while securing a position in law enforcement.
In a stunning lapse of oversight, Bojovic was hired as a police officer in Hanover Park, a suburb near the sanctuary city of Chicago. How a background check failed to flag his immigration status raises serious questions about hiring protocols in the area.
Tricia McLaughlin of the Department of Homeland Security didn’t mince words, stating, “Governor J.B. Pritzker doesn’t just allow violent illegal aliens to terrorize Illinois’s communities, he allows illegal aliens to work as sworn police officers.” Her point lands hard: sanctuary policies seem to have created a blind spot so wide that even those tasked with upholding the law can evade it.
McLaughlin further questioned, “What kind of police department gives criminal illegal aliens badges and guns?” It’s a fair jab, considering federal law explicitly bars undocumented individuals from possessing firearms, making Bojovic’s role not just a breach of trust but a felony.
Bojovic wasn’t just playing cop; he was drawing a salary approved by the Pension Board of Trustees in January this year, starting at about $79,000 annually. That’s a hefty sum for someone who shouldn’t have been in the country, let alone on the payroll.
ICE officials noted that his earnings in 2025 alone have cost American taxpayers over $205,000, including more than $9,200 in FICA and Medicare taxes. That’s money out of hardworking citizens’ pockets, funneled to someone breaking the very laws he swore to enforce.
The contradiction is glaring. A system that claims to protect communities shouldn’t be bankrolling those who undermine its foundation with their very presence.
Sanctuary policies in Illinois, often touted as compassionate, appear to have backfired in this case, allowing a glaring security risk to slip through. Bojovic’s decade-long stay without consequence points to a broader issue of enforcement gaps that need urgent attention.
Critics of these policies argue they prioritize ideology over safety, and this incident fuels that fire. When an undocumented individual can wield a badge and a gun, it’s not just a local failure but a signal that the rule of law is being sidelined.
McLaughlin’s additional comment hits the mark: “Under President Trump and Secretary Noem, ICE is restoring law and order.” It’s a reminder that federal action, like Operation Midway Blitz, might be the only thing standing between chaos and accountability in states that turn a blind eye.
The arrest of Bojovic should serve as a wake-up call to tighten immigration enforcement and vetting processes for sensitive roles like law enforcement. Public safety demands that those entrusted with protecting communities are themselves above reproach.
While empathy for individual struggles is important, it cannot override the need for borders and laws that function as intended. Illinois taxpayers, already burdened, deserve better than footing the bill for such oversights.
This case isn’t just about one man; it’s about a system that’s been allowed to drift too far from common sense. Let’s hope ICE’s efforts spark a broader push to ensure that law enforcement means exactly that, for everyone.
