Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino is firing back after Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson labeled him "barbaric," saying that kind of anti-police rhetoric is fueling real-world violence against immigration agents.

U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis made the comment Wednesday evening, after the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed to put a temporary hold on her standing appointment with U.S. Border Patrol boss Gregory Bovino.

Bovino has become the public face of the Trump administration’s aggressive deportation campaign in Chicago, known as “Operation Midway Blitz.” The judge called him into court one day after attorneys accused him of tossing tear gas into a crowd in the Little Village neighborhood

The Border Patrol chief has been at the center of a legal dispute this week over his violent methods in agent deployments in Chicago and Los Angeles

Lawyers for the Justice Department are asking a federal appeals court for an administrative stay pausing an order that requires Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino meet in person with Judge Sara Ellis each day.

The top U.S. Border Patrol commander spent an hour on the stand Tuesday, responding to U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis' concerns about how federal agents have handled themselves, people they’ve detained,