In yet another move that demonstrates liberals care far more about illegal immigrants than they do their fellow citizens, a federal judge is ordering the release of hundreds of migrants who were arrested in Chicago as part of Homeland Security’s “Operation Midway Blitz.” The detainees are to be set free by November 21. The order came after the judge claims to have found that their arrests might have violated a 2022 consent decree.
U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Cummings agreed with lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC) representing a number of detainees who say that DHS violated a consent decree prohibiting federal agents from conducting arrests without a warrant.
Cummings’ order demands that 13 specific individuals be released back on the streets by November 14 at noon. An additional 615, according to ABC7, are to be released into “alternatives-to-detention,” which could mean electronic monitoring, by November 21, unless the government opts to appeal the order or oppose the detainees’ release by Friday.
The 615 people being ordered out of detention were initially arrested by Immigration and Custom Enforcement agents between June 11 and October 7, 2025. This group of individuals is to remain under close monitoring by the court while the lawyers involved in their cases work to find whether their arrests were in compliance with the pre-existing consent decree.
Michelle Garcia, an attorney with the ACLU said that the order will allow people to be returned to their communities, as, according to her, they shouldn’t have been taken into custody in the first place. Many of these individuals could be violent offenders or other kinds of criminals that will be allowed back out on the street, posing yet another danger to the local community. Once again, the rights and safety of citizens take a backseat to the progressive agenda.
Judge Cummings also ordered the Trump administration to supply additional information concerning arrests that have taken place since October 7, so they can be reviewed for compliance with the pre-existing consent decree. He also called for all deportation proceedings to be suspended for those who are about to be set free.
Those who were detained by immigration officials who had prior removal orders or who pose a “significant” risk to the public are not eligible for the release. One has to wonder who gets to decide what constitutes a “significant” threat and how many dangerous individuals will slip through the cracks.
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“The judge also acknowledged if Customs and Border Patrol and ICE had merely followed federal law and our consent decree, there would be nothing for him to order,” Garcia went on to say. “There would be nothing for him to interpret. But his view of our agreement is that folks who do not have criminal histories or risk of danger to the community, who were unlawfully arrested without probable cause, should be released.”
The consent order, Castanon Nava, is in effect until February 2026 and covers the entire state of Illinois and five other neighboring states. It forbids federal immigration enforcement officers from doing warrantless arrests unless there is reason to believe the individual is in the country illegally and a potential flight risk.
A spokesperson for DHS issued a response to the judge’s order, highlighting the fact the release will place Americans in danger. “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,” Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in her statement. “Now an ACTIVIST JUDGE is putting the lives of Americans directly at risk by ordering 615 illegal aliens be released into the community.”
Featured image: screenshot from embedded video