Block on ICE Detainee Release Held in Place by 7th Circuit (1)

Nearly 450 Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees still cannot be immediately released as their cases are evaluated, an appeals court said Thursday.

The government has a “strong argument” that a Chicago federal judge didn’t have authority to release the detainees on ankle monitors or other alternatives, Judge John Lee of the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit wrote in a majority opinion joined by Judge Doris Pryor.

Though the judges continued a pause on the detainees’ release, they allowed a Biden-era consent decree governing warrantless arrests to continue, denying the government’s request for a stay on the ...