A federal appeals court has temporarily stopped a judge’s order that called for the immediate release of hundreds of people arrested by federal immigration agents in the Chicago area.
The administrative stay, issued Thursday by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, ensures that more than 600 detainees arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will remain in custody while the government’s appeal proceeds.
Appellate judges are scheduled to hear oral arguments in the high-stakes case on December 2.
The Judge’s Order to Release
The action halts a ruling made last week by U.S. District Court Judge Jeffrey Cummings. Judge Cummings ordered that most of the 615 detainees be released on bond by this Friday as their immigration cases move forward.
The judge’s ruling did not apply to individuals who had already been deported or to a small number of detainees deemed by the government to pose a high risk to public safety.
The order stems from a 2018 lawsuit, which eventually resulted in a consent decree during the Biden administration.
That decree placed strict limits on when immigration agents across six states, including Illinois, could apprehend and hold individuals without a warrant.
Violation of Consent Decree Cited
Judge Cummings found that several people arrested during the prior Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, known as Operation Midway Blitz, had been held in direct violation of that consent decree.
Attorneys representing the detainees, from the National Immigrant Justice Center and the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, argued that many recent arrests had been carried out without warrants.
Judge Cummings noted that as more records are analyzed, it stands to reason that “a significant number of additional violations will be uncovered.”
The Seventh Circuit’s administrative stay, requested by the federal government, now puts the emergency release on hold, preventing a sudden influx of 600 individuals into the Chicago area and prolonging the legal showdown.
