Suburban Chicago Officer Detained by ICE for Visa Overstay

A police officer from a suburban area in Chicago has been detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) due to suspicions of overstaying his visa for a decade.

On Thursday, the Department of Homeland Security revealed that Radul Bojovic, who hails from Montenegro and works with the Hanover Village Park Police Department, was apprehended during a recent operation dubbed Midway Blitz.

Bojovic’s employment began in January 2025 after he passed a background check that included providing a “valid and recently updated” work permit, according to a press release from the police department. At the time, the department confirmed that nothing in his background check raised concerns with agencies like the Illinois State Police or the FBI.

The deputy chief of the Hanover Park Police, Victor DiVito, expressed confidence about Bojovic’s legal status, stating that all information they received indicated he was authorized to work legally in the U.S. He noted that they had not been informed by any federal or state authorities about a change in that status.

This situation, however, was criticized by DHS officials as a typical manifestation of the policies under Governor J.B. Pritzker’s administration. They claimed that Bojovic had been overstaying his B2 visa, which had expired back on March 31, 2015.

“Ladure Bojovic violated our laws and had been unlawfully in the U.S. for ten years,” said Tricia McLaughlin, the DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs. “What kind of police department would give a badge and gun to someone in this situation? It’s a felony for a foreign national to even possess a firearm. These individuals are supposed to enforce the law, yet they are breaking it themselves.”

McLaughlin emphasized that under previous leadership, ICE was keen on restoring law and order, insisting that individuals who engage in criminal activity should not be found in positions of authority, like police departments.

In response, the Hanover Village Park Police Department contested the DHS’s assertions. DiVito referenced a 2024 memorandum from the Department of Justice’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives which permitted Bojovic to carry a firearm while on duty.

Bojovic has been placed on administrative leave while awaiting the outcome of his immigration case. If he is permitted to stay and work in the U.S., he could return to his role, according to the department’s announcement.

As of Thursday afternoon, Bojovic was being held at the Clay County Justice Center in Indiana, but details regarding his initial arrest remain unclear.