Judge orders ICE to dial back violent, illegal tactics in Chicago as grand jury refuses to indict couple they arrested

[bigtree]

watch NBC News 5 report:

This week, a judge ordered the immigration and border control agency to dial back arrest tactics in Chicago, coming on the heels of a grand jury refusing to indict a Chicago couple arrested by ICE agents.

21 year old Ray Collins and 30-year old Jocelyne Robledo were charged with felony assault of a federal officer, with both allegedly carrying guns and allegedly struggling with agents. It turns out both were legally permitted to carry the pistols and licensed in Illinois.

Prosecutors at the Dirksen Federal Building dropped charges against the couple on Wednesday after a federal grand jury in Chicago declined to approve indictments against them, something that almost never happens because grand juries only hear the government's side of the allegation.

U.S. District Court Judge Jeffrey Cummings. In a blistering ruling on Tuesday Cummings said ICE has been repeatedly violating a court agreement made in 2022 in which the agency agreed to not make warrantless arrests without probable cause.

Judge Cummings ordered that stop and ICE to lift all bond conditions for 22 arrestees. With hundreds of others who could also be freed because they were illegally arrested.

In the 52-page ruling, Cummings found ICE repeatedly violated the three-year-old enforcement agreement by making dozens of warrantless arrests during the well-publicized federal operation known as “Midway Blitz.”

https://www.nbcchicago.com/investigations/immigration-agency-on-thin-ice-following-two-chicago-legal-cases/3835745/#:~:text=This%20week%2C%20a%20judge%20has%20ordered%20the%20embattled,indict%20a%20Chicago%20couple%20arrested%20by%20ICE%20agents.

That ruling came a day before a federal grand jury took the rare step of declining to indict two protestors that federal prosecutors had charged with resisting and assaulting federal officers.

And it came the same day a federal judge released two individuals — one of whom was shot by ICE — as they await trial for allegedly assaulting officers. In the hearing that led to their pretrial release, one of the defendants’ attorney said body-camera footage contradicts the government’s narrative that the protestors had rammed their vehicles.

U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Cummings agreed with immigrant and civil rights groups that faulted ICE’s new policy of having agents carry blank warrant forms and fill them out at the scene of an arrest. The judge ruled the use of what are known as I-200 warrants is “explicitly designed” to get around the requirement that agents have probable cause before arresting an undocumented immigrant.

Cummings pointed to last week’s raid on an apartment building in Chicago’s South Shore neighborhood as an example of the harms of bypassing probable cause...

The judge noted a recent concurring opinion from U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who wrote that although “apparent ethnicity alone cannot furnish reasonable suspicion” for immigration actions, it can be a “relevant factor.” The justice went on to write that based on reasonable suspicion, “immigration officers may briefly stop the individual and inquire about immigration status,” but that U.S. citizens or other legal residents “will be free to go after the brief encounter.”

But Cummings said that theoretical view clashed with the real-world incident last week.

“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,” the judge wrote in a footnote.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/court-scrutiny-of-ice-mounts-as-judge-rules-warrantless-arrests-violated-order/ar-AA1O77g3

related:

Sept 28, 2025
ICE made unlawful arrests during Operation Midway Blitz, new court filing says
Civil rights groups say dozens were arrested without warrants or probable cause in Chicago-area raids since May.
https://www.wbez.org/immigration/2025/09/28/ice-made-unlawful-arrests-during-operation-midway-blitz-new-court-filing-says

[Justice Brandeis]

1. ICE has no jurisdiction or authority over US citizens

nt

[UpInArms]

2. I am waiting for the arrests and convictions of the masked kidnappers

of thousands.

[Martin Eden]

3. The lawbreakers wore masks & tactical gear

The public needs protection FROM violent ICE thugs.

[progressoid]

4. Durban is right.

The administration will just ignore it.

[Magoo48]

7. Sadly, you're right about that

The good news is, J.Q. public is slowly becoming more and more aware and becoming more and more infuriated.

[Tetrachloride]

5. no arrests no cry

[Tetrachloride]

6. Been a long time since i rock and rolled

i hate iowa nazis

[bigtree]

8. kick