A federal judge has ordered the release of more than 600 individuals detained in Illinois as part of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement operation, CNN affiliate WLS reported, marking a setback for federal efforts to expand detention and deportation of illegal aliens.
U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Cummings, a Biden appointee, ruled Wednesday in favor of attorneys from the National Immigrant Justice Center and the American Civil Liberties Union, who argued that more than 3,000 people had been arrested between June and October during “Operation Midway Blitz.”
Under the order, 615 detainees must be granted bond by noon on November 21. The ruling applies to individuals not subject to mandatory detention and who are not considered significant security threats, the report said.
“They’re all being awarded bond for 615, but how is that process going to happen?” said Mark Fleming, an attorney with the National Immigrant Justice Center, during a news conference on Wednesday.
He told CNN that those who were ordered released “are probably all over the country” and would need to be located.
According to a Wednesday news release from the National Immigrant Justice Center, those detained were taken into custody by ICE agents in the Chicago area between June 11 and October 7.
Fleming, who led the lawsuit alleging that federal agents violated a 2022 settlement agreement prohibiting warrantless arrests in the region, said the organization believes at least 1,100 of the 3,000 individuals arrested have since voluntarily left the country, stating they “gave up” on fighting their cases.
In response to the ruling, Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said the decision “puts the lives of Americans at risk.”
“At every turn, activist judges, sanctuary politicians, and violent rioters have actively tried to prevent our law enforcement officers from arresting and removing the worst of the worst,” McLaughlin said in a statement to CNN Wednesday. “Now an ACTIVIST JUDGE is putting the lives of Americans directly at risk by ordering 615 illegal aliens be released into the community.”
It’s not clear if the Trump administration is appealing the ruling, though that seems likely. Meanwhile, federal attorneys have requested a stay until next Friday, according to Fleming.
“All of this, all of the tactics of (senior Border Patrol official Gregory) Bovino, all of the tactics of (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) have been unlawful in the vast, vast majority of arrests,” Fleming said.
The ruling comes amid heightened tensions over racial profiling and constitutional rights — affecting both documented and undocumented individuals — as the Trump administration’s large-scale deportation effort continues to target people of all ages, including families, children, and suspected criminals. Federal agents have made arrests outside court hearings, during traffic stops, and in workplace raids.
One of those recently detained was Diana Galeano, a teacher at Rayito de Sol Day Care in Chicago. Video of her arrest — showing ICE officers entering the facility and escorting her out — has drawn widespread outrage from parents and community leaders.
In a separate decision on Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Jeremy C. Daniel, another Biden appointee in Illinois, granted a habeas corpus petition filed by Galeano last week, finding that her detention was unlawful.
“The Court has recognized that Diana and scores of others like her should not be in custody indefinitely,” her attorney, Charlie Wysong, said in a statement regarding Daniel’s ruling. “This is an important step on Diana’s path to returning home where she belongs.”
ICE is expected to continue its enforcement operations in Chicago. “We aren’t leaving Chicago,” McLaughlin told CNN in a statement, responding to reports that Bovino planned to leave the city. McLaughlin noted that street crime has declined since the launch of “Operation Midway Blitz.”