A federal judge in Chicago, Illinois, just ordered the administration of President Donald Trump to release 600 illegal immigrants from its custody. 

The New York Post reports that U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Cummings issued the order on Thursday.

Cummings, unsurprisingly, is an appointee of former President Joe Biden.

BREAKING: @CMDROpAtLargeCA just DESTROYED any hopes of illegals in Chicago after a judge ordered over SIX HUNDRED to be released.

“We're gonna go even HARDWR on the streets! If he releases those 650? We're gonna APPREHEND 1,650 on the streets of Chicago!"

LFG!!! pic.twitter.com/i8aPnbRzzL

— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) November 13, 2025

The ruling

The judge ordered the release of the detainees who are currently being held at the Broadview Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) center.

The Post reports:

The [Cummings] order stems from Margarito Castañon Nava v. DHS, a class-action lawsuit claiming federal agents unlawfully detained hundreds of migrants who were not subject to mandatory detention or final removal orders, a direct violation of a 2021 Biden-era decree inherited by the Trump administration.

Cummings, in his ruling, referred to the detentions as "a pattern of unlawful arrests and confinement."

The Post continues:

In the ruling, Cummings accused DHS of holding migrants in “unsafe and unsanitary” conditions, saying detainees had been kept in overcrowded buildings “next to overflowing toilets.” The judge further said the department’s recent reversal on detention authority represented a “180-degree change” from previous legal interpretations.

The Post adds, "The decision could force the largest single-day release of ICE detainees in Illinois in years, freeing hundreds arrested during 'Operation Midway Blitz,' a Trump enforcement sweep that immigration activists claim traumatized communities across the Chicago area."

Trump admin responds

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has released a statement, according to Fox News, slamming Cummings for his ruling.

"At every turn, activist judges, sanctuary politicians and violent rioters have actively tried to prevent our law enforcement officers from arresting and removing the worst of the worst," said Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for Public Affairs at DHS.

She added, "Now an activist judge is putting the lives of Americans directly at risk by ordering 615 illegal aliens be released into the community."

It appears that the Trump administration is not backing down from the situation. Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino, after the court ruling, went on Fox News to say, "We're gonna go even HARDER on the streets! If he releases those 650? We're gonna APPREHEND 1,650 on the streets of Chicago!"

How this case will proceed in the courts is yet to be determined.