Federal judge rules ICE violated consent decree in warrantless arrests

A federal judge ruled Tuesday that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents violated a federal consent decree by arresting nearly two dozen illegal immigrants at the start of President Donald Trump’s second term earlier this year.

U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Cummings in federal court in Chicago extended until February 2026 the consent decree that limits immigration agents’ power to make warrantless arrests.

Cummings also ordered ICE to begin disclosing monthly the number of warrantless arrests that agents make each month.

The ACLU of Illinois and other Chicago immigration advocates sued the Department of Homeland Security and ICE in March, alleging that the arrests of at least 22 people in January violated a 2022 consent decree prohibiting ICE from arresting people without a warrant or probable cause.

Trump says Chicago mayor and Illinois governor ‘should be in jail for failing to protect’ ICE officers

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents knock on the door of a residence during a multi-agency targeted enforcement operation in Chicago, Ill., Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025. (Christopher Dilts/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“Today’s decision makes clear that DHS and ICE – like everyone else – must follow the Constitution and the law,” Michelle García, deputy legal director of the ACLU of Illinois and co-counsel in the case, said in a statement. “The federal government’s reckless practice of arresting, harassing and detaining people, and then finding justification for this action, must end.”

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents make an arrest as part of President Donald Trump’s broader immigration crackdown in Chicago, Illinois, January 26, 2025. (Immigration and Customs Enforcement/handout via REUTERS)

Trump deployed Texas National Guard troops to Illinois this week for an initial 60 days to help with his administration’s crime enforcement and deportation rollout.

CHICAGO MAYOR CREATES “ICE-FREE ZONES” TO BLOCK FEDERAL AGENTS FROM CITY PROPERTY

Chicago has sought to thwart ICE’s deportation efforts, with Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker filing suit. Monday who tried to prevent the Trump administration from deploying National Guard troops to Illinois.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson pushed back against Trump’s plan to send National Guard troops and step up ICE enforcement in Chicago. (Getty Images; Scott Olson)

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Johnson and Pritzker clashed with Trump over immigration control and the president’s decision to send National Guard troops to the state to protect federal personnel and property, amid escalating anti-ICE protests in Broadview, Illinois.

Deirdre Heavey and Alexandra Koch of Fox News Digital and the Associated Press contributed to this report.