A suburban Chicago police officer was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials after he allegedly overstayed his visa by a decade.
Radule Bojovic, a Montenegro native who serves with the Village of Hanover Park Police Department, was taken into federal custody sometime during Operation Midway Blitz, the Department of Homeland Security announced Thursday.
Bojovic was hired by the department in January 2025 after passing the background check and providing all required documents, including a “valid and recently renewed” Work Authorization Card, according to a press release from the Village of Hanover Park Police Department.
The police department noted that, at the time, Bojovic’s background check didn’t flag any prior run-ins with the Illinois State Police or FBI, according to the release.
“The bottom line is that all information we received from the federal government indicated that Officer Bojovic is legally authorized to work in the United States as a police officer. Clearly, without that authorization, the Village would not have hired him. Additionally, the Village has not received any notice from any federal or state agency that his work authorization status has ever been revoked,” Hanover Park Police Deputy Chief Victor DiVito wrote.
DHS officials, though, lambasted the entire situation as a prime example of “Governor J.B. Pritzker’s Illinois.”
In a press release, DHS asserted that Bojovic was overstaying a B2 visa that expired on March 31, 2015.
“Radule Bojovic violated our nation’s laws and was living ILLEGALLY in the United States for 10 years—what kind of police department gives criminal illegal aliens badges and guns? It’s a felony for aliens to even possess a firearm. A so-called law enforcement officer who is actively breaking the law,” DHS Assistant Secretary of Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said.
“Under President Trump and Secretary Noem ICE is restoring law and order. Criminal illegal aliens have NO PLACE in our communities, especially on our police forces.”
The Village of Hanover Park Police Department refuted DHS’ allegations.
DiVito pointed to a memorandum from the Department of Justice’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives that was issued on Jan. 5, 2024 and “allows [Bojovic] to carry a firearm while on duty,” according to its press release.
The police department has placed Bojovic on administrative leave “pending the outcome of the immigration proceedings he is now facing.” If he is permitted to remain and work in the US, he will be “returned to full duty status,” according to the release.
Bojovic is listed as being in custody at the Clay County Justice Center in Central Indiana as of Thursday afternoon. It’s unclear when or where he was originally arrested.
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