Appeals Court Stops Chicago Releases

On Thursday, a judge’s ruling calling for the release of hundreds of individuals detained by immigration officers in the Chicago region was temporarily stopped by a federal appeals court. The Trump administration obtained an administrative stay from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, which prevents those inmates from being released while the government’s appeal proceeds. Oral arguments in the case will be heard by appellate judges on December 2. Judge Jeffrey Cummings of the U.S. District Court ruled last week that the majority of the 615 inmates be freed on bail by this Friday while their immigration cases proceed.

Those in that category who had previously been deported and a small number of inmates who the government considered to be a serious threat to public safety were exempt from the order. Judge Cummings’ decision was made in a protracted lawsuit that was started in 2018, during the first term of President Trump, and ended with a consent decree under the administration of Joseph R. Biden Jr. The conditions under which immigration enforcement officers in six states, including Illinois, might detain and arrest individuals without a warrant were limited by that consent order. Several of the individuals detained during the Trump administration’s immigration campaign in the Chicago region, known as Operation Midway Blitz, were detained in violation of that consent agreement, according to Judge Cummings.