Court blocks release of hundreds of immigrants arrested in crackdown near Chicago
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A federal appeals court blocked the immediate release of hundreds of immigrants detained during a Chicago area immigration crackdown in a split decision Thursday that also allowed the extension of a consent decree outlining how federal immigration agents can make warrantless arrests.

Last month, U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Cummings, who found the government violated the agreement, ordered the release of more than 600 immigrants on bond, which the appeals court paused. Roughly 450 remain in custody, attorneys say.

In the 2-1 opinion, the appeals court said Cummings overstepped his authority on the blanket release of the detainees without assessing each case individually. The consent decree “carefully maps out what the district judge can or cannot order” to balance enforcement and public safety, according to the opinion. But the ruling also said the Trump administration wrongly categorized all immigrant arrestees as subject to mandatory detention.

Plaintiffs’ attorneys said they were disheartened by the ruling but glad the court upheld the extension of the agreement, which among other things requires ICE to show documentation for each arrest it makes. Federal judges elsewhere including in Colorado have also ruled to limit warrantless arrests.

  • Optional@lemmy.worldEnglish
    9·
    5 days ago

    Though the appeals court blocked Cummings’ attempt to release hundreds of detainees, it handed two key losses to the Trump administration. First, it sided with Cummings on his October decision to extend into February what’s known as the Castanon Nava settlement agreement.

    Originally set to expire in May, the deal restricts the ability of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to make warrantless arrests in Illinois and nearby states.

    Second, the appeals court rejected the Trump administration’s new reading of immigration law, which has been used to hold people in mandatory detention. The practice has been rejected by district courts across the country, and Lee wrote that it “upends decades of practice.”

    That makes the 7th Circuit the first federal appeals court to reject the Trump administration’s mandatory detention argument, according to Mark Fleming, associate director of federal litigation for the National Immigrant Justice Center.

    https://chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/2025/12/11/federal-appeals-court-blocks-release-hundreds-but-trump-still-loses-mixed-immigration-ruling