In a significant development for the Chicago area, a federal judge has ordered the release of hundreds of individuals on bond following a series of arrests by federal immigration agents. This immigration blitz has caused considerable unrest in local communities. According to the ruling, those who are set to be released must be granted bond by noon on November 21. The precise number of individuals who will benefit from this release will depend on how many have already voluntarily departed or been deported.
U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Cummings has mandated that the Department of Justice conduct a thorough review of all remaining arrests made up until Wednesday. This review is focused on individuals who do not have mandatory detention orders and do not pose a significant risk to society. Judge Cummings has instructed the Department of Justice to compile a list of these cases by November 19, ensuring that all affected individuals receive fair consideration.
Attorneys from the National Immigrant Justice Center have raised concerns that many of the arrests executed by federal immigration agents violate a consent decree established in Illinois and five neighboring states. This decree limits the conditions under which agents can perform warrantless arrests while enforcing civil immigration laws. Last month, Judge Cummings ruled that federal agents had indeed violated this consent decree, known as the 2022 Castañon Nava settlement, which aims to protect individuals from unlawful detentions.
Under the terms of this consent decree, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) must adhere to specific conditions when making warrantless arrests in the Chicago area. These include pre-determining probable cause for believing an individual is in the country illegally and assessing whether that person is a flight risk. Attorneys argue that these critical requirements have been disregarded in numerous cases, including a recent arrest at a Chicago daycare facility.
Mark Fleming, an attorney with the National Immigrant Justice Center, has expressed deep concern over the frequency of these violations. "As we're digging into it, we are very concerned that many, if not most, of ICE arrests are violations of our consent decree," he stated. Fleming reported that the list of individuals arrested in contravention of the consent decree has now grown to over 3,000 people. He emphasized the alarming nature of these findings, noting that most of those arrested did not have prior removal orders.
Currently, ICE has provided a list of 3,800 individuals, while U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Border Patrol have contributed a list of 1,200. However, Fleming cautioned that there might be duplicate entries on these lists, making it difficult to ascertain an accurate total number of individuals affected. Notably, these lists only cover cases up to the beginning of October and do not include any arrests made in the past month.
Attorneys representing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have argued that Congress has stripped federal courts of the authority to grant parole to large groups of immigrants held in ICE custody. In their legal filings, government attorneys contend that the power to grant parole is vested solely with the Secretary of Homeland Security, thereby limiting the role of federal courts in these matters. According to them, federal courts cannot mandate the release of any individuals on parole since Congress has removed that authority.
Fleming highlighted that more than 1,000 individuals arrested may no longer be in the U.S., indicating they could have been deported after signing voluntary removal orders. He described the situation as "horrifying," noting that many of these individuals had no prior interactions with law enforcement and had never faced detention before. Fleming remarked, "What we've raised to the court is if you don't provide this interim relief, there will be no one left. At the end of this, we may find thousands of violations, but there may be no one left."