The Trump administration secured two key legal wins for its immigration operations in Chicago after facing multiple roadblocks in the courtroom. However, it is still awaiting a major decision on the National Guard deployment to the city.
The administration’s latest win in federal court came Thursday, when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit halted an order from U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Cummings that would have released hundreds of people detained by federal immigration officers as part of operations combating illegal immigration.
Cummings’s order would have released as many as 615 people from immigration custody as soon as Friday who were detained as part of operations conducted in the Chicago area. However, on Thursday, the appeals court paused the order pending a hearing on Dec. 2, marking the second time in as many days that judges on the 7th Circuit handed the administration legal wins by temporarily blocking lower court orders.
U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis issued a sweeping order limiting federal immigration officers’ use of force in the Chicago area amid protests over their operations, but her order was halted by an appeals court on Wednesday. The panel ruled that Ellis’s order was “overbroad” and paused it for now, but also said it was still reviewing the merits of the Trump administration’s appeal.
“The practical effect is to enjoin all law enforcement officers within the Executive Branch,” the appeals court panel wrote of Ellis’s overreach. “Further, the order requires the enjoined parties to submit for judicial review all current and future internal guidance, policies, and directives regarding efforts to implement the order — a mandate impermissibly infringing on principles of separation of powers on this record.”
The administration has faced legal pushback in multiple cities over its immigration operations, including in Los Angeles. However, in Chicago, it has faced several roadblocks from federal courts. While the administration scored these two interim wins at the 7th Circuit, the appeals court delivered a loss to the president last month in his bid to deploy the National Guard to the city.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACCUSES ILLINOIS OFFICIALS OF INCITING ICE PROTESTS
President Donald Trump has deployed the National Guard to Los Angeles to protect federal assets and officials amid protests over immigration operations. He has attempted to do the same in Portland and Chicago but has been blocked by federal courts. The Chicago case prompted the Justice Department to appeal to the Supreme Court’s emergency docket.
The Supreme Court has yet to rule on the emergency petition from the Trump administration over the Chicago troop deployment. The high court’s order could have sweeping effects on the federal government’s ability to deploy troops in those other cities.