John, We continue to see a heavy presence by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in the Chicago area, and we wanted to update you on our work to free people from detention and reunite families who have been torn apart by these ongoing immigration arrest operations. The National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC) and our partners continue to respond to an unprecedented demand for immigration legal services, and we remain steadfast in our litigation and advocacy to stop the unlawful arrest tactics ICE and other federal agents are using to abduct our neighbors. Earlier this month, a district court judge ordered the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to release on bond hundreds of people believed to have been arrested without warrants or probable cause, in violation of the Castañon Nava consent decree. Those individuals were to be placed on Alternatives to Detention programs until a final determination was made about whether their arrest violated the consent decree. Unfortunately, the Trump administration, even after acknowledging that these individuals were likely arrested and detained without warrants, sought to block their release by appealing the district court’s ruling. The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily granted the government’s stay request, which has delayed the releases and family reunions that thousands in the Chicago area anticipated we would be celebrating this week. This delay means that families will face, at minimum, weeks more separation, and people will continue to languish in inhumane immigrant detention centers, at risk of deportation without due process. This is especially sad given that families have already been separated from loved ones for weeks. | |
| At the district court hearing where the judge ordered DHS to release people from detention, he provided his own snapshot of how ICE and CBP agents have disrupted the daily lives of Chicagoland communities and snatched up people who were just going about their normal business. The judge’s clerks had reviewed over 100 habeas petitions recently filed at the courthouse from people who had been arrested and detained during Operation Midway Blitz, and here is what they found: - 54 people were arrested at work, including 20 landscapers and four ride-share or taxi drivers
- 20 were arrested commuting to or from work
- 9 were arrested at a Home Depot or Menards, “presumably either seeking work or to pick up supplies”
- 7 were arrested at an “immigration-related hearing”
- 11 were arrested in public places like a park, gas station, or a Dunkin’ Donuts drive-thru
NIJC is deeply concerned that people who remain trapped in detention are facing significant pressure to give up their cases and accept deportation without due process. Based on the government’s filings in the Castañon Nava case, we believe that at least 60% of people who were arrested without warrants in recent months in the Chicago area already have been deported or accepted voluntary departure to avoid prolonged detention. The Seventh Circuit has scheduled oral argument in the case for December 2. NIJC, along with our co-counsel Roger Baldwin Foundation of ACLU, Inc. (ACLU of Illinois), will have the opportunity to explain why the relief that the district court granted is so urgent and appropriate. We remain hopeful that we will prevail and secure releases. Meanwhile, NIJC continues to work with community partners including the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, Organized Communities Against Deportation, and Midwest Immigration Bond Fund, to prepare to reunite families and assist with the bond process once releases are allowed to proceed. Donate to the Midway to Freedom bond fund campaign to ensure everyone can be bonded out of ICE detention once releases are allowed to proceed. Our Chicagoland communities have endured a lot in recent months, but none of us are facing these challenges alone. At NIJC we will continue to defend due process, liberty, and the right to family unity for all our immigrant neighbors. Sincerely,
Keren Zwick
Director of Litigation, National Immigrant Justice Center | |
