A federal judge has ordered the release of more than 600 individuals detained in Illinois as part of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement operation, CNN affiliate WLS reported, marking a setback for federal efforts to expand detention and deportation of illegal aliens.
U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Cummings, a Biden appointee, ruled Wednesday in favor of attorneys from the National Immigrant Justice Center and the American Civil Liberties Union, who argued that more than 3,000 people had been arrested between June and October during “Operation Midway Blitz.”
Under the order, 615 detainees must be granted bond by noon on November 21. The ruling applies to individuals not subject to mandatory detention and who are not considered significant security threats, the report said.
“They’re all being awarded bond for 615, but how is that process going to happen?” said Mark Fleming, an attorney with the National Immigrant Justice Center, during a news conference on Wednesday.
He told CNN that those who were ordered released “are probably all over the country” and would need to be located.
A California teenager is facing prison time after a violent school attack left another student seriously injured — and now he’s begging the court not to send him to jail.
According to court records, the teen was charged with aggravated assault after using a steel bar broom during a fight on school grounds. Prosecutors say the assault was “calculated, cruel, and left lasting trauma on the victim.”
The case quickly drew national attention due to the severity of the attack and the young age of those involved. In court, the teen reportedly broke down in tears, pleading with the judge to spare him from a prison sentence.
Family members of the victim, however, pushed back against leniency. “This wasn’t a mistake or an accident,” one relative said. “This was violence — and there need to be consequences.”
The judge has not yet issued a final sentence, though legal experts say the teen could face several years in custody given the seriousness of the charges.
What began as a school fight has now turned into a high-stakes courtroom drama — with a teen’s future hanging in the balance.