Naperville: A federal appeals court has sided with the Trump administration and temporarily halted a judge’s order that restricted how immigration agents could use tear gas and other crowd-control weapons during protests in Chicago.
The 7th US Circuit Court of Appeals issued a brief opinion this week, granting the government’s emergency request to pause the lower court’s directive. The earlier order, issued by US District Judge Sara Ellis on November 6, required Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to provide warnings before deploying tear gas, barred them from arresting or dispersing journalists and mandated that agents wear body cameras and clear identification.
The appeals court concluded the judge’s ruling overstepped judicial authority. The panel wrote that the directive’s "practical effect is to enjoin all law enforcement officers within the Executive Branch," a level of control they said amounted to impermissible micromanagement of federal policing.
Chicago has become a focal point of President Donald Trump’s efforts to expand immigration enforcement. Under "Operation Midway Blitz," launched in early September, federal agents used tear gas in residential areas and forcibly subdued protesters while pursuing individuals suspected of living in the country illegally.
Trump deployed National Guard troops to the city in September, but a federal court blocked their deployment on 16 October. The US Supreme Court is now reviewing that decision.
