(DC Pundit) – U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Cummings of Chicago has decided that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers enforcing federal law inside Cook County courthouses are the real problem, not the illegal immigrants violating that law. Cummings declared that ICE agents can actually be arrested if they detain a migrant without a warrant inside or around a courthouse.
Let that sink in. Federal law enforcement officers could be taken into custody by local authorities for doing their jobs. Welcome to Illinois, where up is down, right is wrong, and apparently, illegal immigration is now a protected activity.
The order bars ICE officers from arresting migrants at courthouses without a warrant. The judge insists this is about ensuring that “courthouses remain open and accessible” so that “litigants and witnesses may appear without fear of civil arrest.” In other words, Cummings believes the “fair administration of justice” depends on illegal aliens feeling perfectly comfortable strolling into taxpayer-funded courthouses, without worrying that their illegal presence might actually have consequences.
Cummings cited several recent incidents where ICE agents took “collateral” migrants, those discovered to be here illegally while the agency was after a different suspect, into custody near Chicago-area courthouses. He went so far as to accuse ICE of rough treatment, writing, “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.”
Now, to be clear, ICE doesn’t just grab random people off the street for fun. Their “collateral” arrests happen when agents lawfully encounter other illegal migrants while pursuing a target. It’s called law enforcement, not selective enforcement. But to this judge, the real crime seems to be enforcing immigration law in Cook County at all.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a polite but pointed response, saying it intends to “comply with all lawful court orders and is addressing this matter with the court.” However, DHS also stood firmly behind ICE’s authority, stating: “We aren’t some medieval kingdom; there are no legal sanctuaries where you can hide and avoid the consequences for breaking the law. Nothing in the Constitution prohibits arresting a lawbreaker where you find them.”
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Exactly right. The Constitution doesn’t say, “Except at courthouses.” Federal immigration law is not subject to the whims of local judges who believe feelings matter more than law and order.
The irony, of course, is that courthouses are supposed to be places where the law is upheld, not where it’s selectively ignored to appease activist judges or politically connected immigration groups. Yet, under Judge Cummings’ ruling, criminals now have more protection than the officers trying to enforce federal law.
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