The renowned artist behind Chicago's famous 'Bean' sculpture has strongly condemned federal immigration agents for using his artwork as a backdrop for what he called a "self-congratulatory photo-op." Anish Kapoor, the 71-year-old British sculptor who created the iconic Cloud Gate installation, expressed his horror after Customs and Border Protection agents posed around the reflective monument in Millennium Park.

On Monday morning around 7 a.m., dozens of uniformed CBP agents gathered in the snow outside the famous sculpture, with some carrying weapons, according to Block Club Chicago. The agents took photos for approximately 30 minutes as Department of Homeland Security photographers captured the scene. During the photo session, an agent shouted "Everyone say, Little Village!" - referencing a Mexican-American neighborhood located nine miles southwest of the sculpture - and the group responded in unison.

"I find it utterly horrific," Kapoor told The Daily Beast about the incident. "The Bean and the whole of Millennium Park is a site of community, both for residents of Chicago, and all those hundreds of thousands of people who visit every year. It draws people from different cultures, from different backgrounds. It brings them together to enjoy public art, public beauty. And of course, the Bean reflects - quite literally - the city of Chicago, which is a melting pot of culture."

The artist emphasized that the federal agents' actions represented the complete opposite of what his sculpture symbolizes. "Border Patrol, and Donald Trump's entire immigration policy, stands for the exact opposite of this. So to see these people who are going out there and targeting migrants using it for a self-congratulatory photo-op is horrifying," Kapoor explained.

The photo opportunity came after CBP agents conducted operations in Little Village over the weekend, where they faced resistance from local residents. According to the Department of Homeland Security, some in the crowd threw bricks and paint cans at agents during an arrest attempt, while a man in a Jeep fired multiple rounds. Eight U.S. citizens and one undocumented immigrant were arrested, though no federal agents were injured.

Kapoor expressed particular dismay at the agents' chanting of "Little Village," calling it "nothing less than a fascist battle cry of intimidation to the Mexican Americans who live there as part of the community of Chicago." The artist, who has visited Chicago multiple times, described Little Village as "a sweet and lovely place" and found the agents' behavior "just awful."

This is not the first time Kapoor has objected to unauthorized use of his sculpture. In 2017, he successfully challenged the National Rifle Association after they used Cloud Gate in a promotional video without his consent. Kapoor wrote on Instagram at the time that "The NRA's nightmarish, intolerant, divisive vision perverts everything that Cloud Gate - and America - stands for." The dispute was settled in 2018.

Now, Kapoor is exploring similar legal action against the federal immigration agencies. "I'm in conversations about whether there's space here to do something similar [to the NRA]," he told The Daily Beast. "I don't know whether there is, to be perfectly straightforward, but I find it utterly horrific." A park worker noted that Kapoor is known for taking legal action against unauthorized uses of his artwork.

The Monday photo session was part of what government officials called "Operation Midway Blitz," a Chicago-based operation aimed at arresting undocumented immigrants with criminal backgrounds. This followed a similar incident in September when CBP's social media accounts posted photos of armed agents in boats on the Chicago River, including shots in front of Trump Tower, with the caption "Where streets end, our Marine Unit begins."

Local officials have criticized these displays as political theater. 42nd Ward Alderman Brendan Reilly called the September incident "a really cheap photo op for President Trump to flex his ICE muscles with his hotel sign in the background." The controversy highlights ongoing tensions between federal immigration enforcement and local communities, with Kapoor's sculpture becoming an unwitting symbol in the broader immigration debate.