A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to release hundreds of people detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in the Chicago area by noon Friday, citing growing constitutional and public health concerns.
U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Cummings issued the directive Wednesday, demanding an immediate plan to free detainees apprehended as part of Operation "Midway Blitz" and held in facilities across northern Illinois and neighboring states.
"The government cannot continue to hold these individuals under conditions that violate their constitutional rights," Judge Cummings wrote in his order. "The time for delay has passed."
The ruling follows months of mounting pressure from immigrant rights advocates who say overcrowded detention centers pose grave risks to both detainees and staff. Attorneys representing the detainees argued that unsafe and unsanitary conditions amounted to cruel and unusual punishment.
"As we're digging into it, we are very concerned that many, if not most [of ICE arrests], are violations of our consent decree," Mark Fleming, of the National Immigrant Justice Center, told ABC 7 Chicago.
"Our initial analysis is that it's over 3,000 arrests," Fleming said. "We've started to dig into the case file that they produced to us, and the vast majority are violations. If they did not have a prior order of removal, in almost all circumstances, they've been uniformly violating the consent decree."
The consent decree limits the circumstances under which agents can make arrests without a warrant while enforcing immigration law. The National Immigrant Justice Center has argued hundreds of migrants were arrested in violation of the decree, which is in place in Illinois and five other states.
The Trump administration had sought to delay any mass release, arguing it could endanger public safety. Justice Department attorneys warned that the order could lead to "chaos" within immigration enforcement.
But Judge Cummings rejected those arguments, noting that the government had failed to present evidence of any concrete threat posed by releasing detainees, most of whom have no violent criminal records.
"The court is not persuaded that continued detention is necessary for public safety," the judge wrote. "The Constitution does not yield to bureaucratic convenience."
The order requires ICE and CBP to begin immediate coordination with local law enforcement and community organizations to ensure the safe transition and monitoring of released detainees.
Newsmax reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for comment but did not receive an immediate response.
As the Friday deadline approaches, immigrant rights groups are reportedly mobilizing to provide legal aid, housing, and transportation for those set to be released.