In Chicago on Wednesday a federal judge, Jeffrey Cummings, ordered that dozens of people detained in recent immigration enforcement actions be released, and that the government assess hundreds more for possible release. According to the ruling, 13 detainees must be freed unconditionally, and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) must review the cases of 615 others to determine whether they qualify for bond or alternatives to detention.
The order comes amid the enforcement campaign dubbed Operation Midway Blitz, under which more than 3,000 people have been arrested in the Chicago area since September 2025. The judge found that the earlier arrests violated a 2022 consent decree known as Castañon Nava consent decree, which regulates how warrantless arrests by immigration authorities must be conducted in Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Missouri, Kentucky and Kansas.
During the hearing, Cummings criticized the government’s practices, noting that many of those arrested did not appear to fall into the “worst of the worst” category of criminal immigration cases, and that some arrests reportedly took place in settings such as fast-food drive-thrus or day-care centers. In his order he paused deportation proceedings for those whose cases are under review and gave the government a deadline to produce documentation and risk assessments.
Advocates for the detainees welcomed the decision as a validation of due-process concerns, arguing that many individuals were held without proper review and lacked legal counsel. One attorney said: “All of the tactics of ICE have been unlawful in the vast majority of arrests.” The government, in turn, warned that broad release could threaten public safety, and asked the court for time to evaluate high-risk detainees.
This ruling is significant because it places stricter oversight over how federal immigration authorities carry out arrests in jurisdictions bound by the consent decree. The outcome may lead to a large number of releases in the coming days as the government sorts through detainee files and weighs who remains eligible for detention.
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