Chicago Suburban Police Officer Detained by ICE for Allegedly Overstaying Visa by 10 Years

A suburban Chicago police officer, Radule Bojovic, has been taken into federal custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after authorities alleged that he overstayed his visa by a decade.

Bojovic, a native of Montenegro, serves with the Village of Hanover Park Police Department. He was detained during “Operation Midway Blitz,” according to a Department of Homeland Security statement.

He joined the police force in January 2025 after passing background checks and submitting a valid, recently renewed Work Authorization Card. The department stated that no red flags were raised by federal or state agencies at the time of his hiring.

“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,” Hanover Park Police Deputy Chief Victor DiVito said.

DHS, however, claims that Bojovic overstayed a B2 visa that expired on March 31, 2015. Officials sharply criticized the situation, describing it as emblematic of “Governor J.B. Pritzker’s Illinois” and calling it “a felony for aliens to even possess a firearm.”

The Hanover Park Police Department disputed DHS’s statements, pointing to a January 2024 Department of Justice memo from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, which authorized Bojovic to carry a firearm while on duty.

Bojovic has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of his immigration proceedings. If allowed to stay and work in the U.S., the department stated he would return to full duty.

He is currently being held at the Clay County Justice Center in Indiana. Details surrounding the timing and location of his arrest remain unclear.