A federal judge appears to on the verge of releasing hundreds of illegal immigrants back to into the United States, a potential turning point in a years-long court fight against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The case stems from a class-action lawsuit filed in 2018 that accuses ICE of systematically arresting undocumented immigrants without obtaining judicial warrants. Attorneys for the plaintiffs are pressing for the immediate release of detainees who have no record of serious criminal offenses. According to their filings, approximately 85 percent of individuals held in ICE facilities nationwide report no prior convictions, writes a local NBC affiliate.
A release order was issued Wednesday morning from District Judge Jeff Cummings, and came from a lawsuit brought by civil rights groups against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) after Operation Midway Blitz resulted in the arrests of thousands of allegedly undocumented immigrants.
In the ruling, Cummings ordered at least 615 people to be released by Friday, November 14.
Left-wing judges are now ordering that illegal aliens be re-released into the country https://t.co/hQ6eu1qwYJ
— Sunny (@sunnyright) November 12, 2025
The judge’s remarks suggest the potential scope of the order could stretch beyond Illinois. Attorneys confirmed that many of those affected are housed in detention centers across the country. Officials within the Trump administration are expected to submit an expanded list of possible releases — a document that plaintiffs’ lawyers believe could include thousands of additional detainees.
Mark Fleming, one of the lead attorneys for the plaintiffs, underscored what he views as the profound implications of the litigation. “I think it will show that this whole operation for the last two months, the terrorizing of our neighborhoods, the brutalizing of people here has all been unlawful. That’s what it’s gonna show,” Fleming said.
The proceedings underscore continuing disputes between federal immigration enforcement and “resistance” judges who will do anything to prevent the Trump White House from deporting those in the country illegally, particularly if they deem the detention to pose minimal threats to public safety. As hearings move forward, the outcome could reshape how federal authorities conduct arrests and detentions without warrants across the United States.
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