by the El Reportero’s wire services
A federal judge in the Chicago area has ruled that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents can be detained if they violate his order and arrest a migrant without a valid warrant at any Cook County courthouse.
U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Cummings issued a ruling prohibiting ICE officers from taking migrants into custody at courthouses unless they have a warrant. He further declared that federal officers may themselves be arrested if they disregard this directive.
The decision seeks to curb what are known as “collateral arrests” — detentions of undocumented individuals discovered incidentally while ICE agents pursue someone they are officially authorized to arrest.
Cummings emphasized that courthouses must remain spaces of security and impartiality.
“The fair administration of justice requires that courts remain open and accessible, and that litigants and witnesses may appear without fear of civil arrest,” he wrote.
The ruling referenced recent instances in which ICE agents reportedly detained individuals outside Cook County courthouses, including cases involving “collateral” migrants taken into custody without warrants.
“One thing seems clear: ICE rousted American citizens from their apartments during the middle of the night and detained them — in zip ties no less — for far longer than the ‘brief’ period authorized by the operative regulation,” Cummings wrote.
In response, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said it plans to “comply with all lawful court orders and is addressing this matter with the court.”
Still, DHS defended its right to detain undocumented individuals found during enforcement operations.
“We aren’t some medieval kingdom; there are no legal sanctuaries where you can hide and avoid the consequences for breaking the law,” the agency said in a statement to WBBM-TV. “Nothing in the Constitution prohibits arresting a lawbreaker where you find them.”
