Judicial tyranny continues. A federal judge recently ordered ICE agent arrests at courthouses. US District Judge Jeffrey Cummings, a Biden appointee, barred ICE agents from arresting illegal aliens at Cook County, Illinois, courthouses if they don’t have a warrant. Judge Cummings said the ICE agents can be arrested if they violate his court order. The judge barred ICE agents from making collateral arrests, a term that describes the arrest of illegal aliens who happen to be discovered during the arrest of another alien for whom they have a warrant to take into custody.
Breitbart reported that U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Cummings ordered that ICE officers are barred from arresting migrants at courthouses if they don’t have a warrant. He also ordered that federal law enforcement can be arrested if they violate his orders. The judge’s order aimed to prevent what are called collateral arrests of people whom ICE officers discover are illegal on the spot. These are migrants that ICE agents come across by happenstance while looking for someone they have a warrant to apprehend.
Cummings stated that courthouses must be places where witnesses and suspects feel safe. The fair administration of justice requires that courts remain open and accessible, and that litigants and witnesses may appear without fear of civil arrest, he said in his order. Judge Cummings also cited in his ruling arrests that have been made recently outside county courthouses where ICE has taken collateral migrants into custody in the Chicago area. 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, the judge wrote.
The DHS defended its practice of arresting illegal aliens at courthouses. We aren’t some medieval kingdom, there are no legal sanctuaries where you can hide and avoid the consequences for breaking the law, DHS said in a statement to CBS News. Nothing in the Constitution prohibits arresting a lawbreaker where you find them. The department argues that enforcement at the courthouse is a practical necessity, a view that aligns with a hardline stance many in conservative circles supported when President Trump was in office.
From a traditional, conservative Republican viewpoint, this case underscores a broader debate about the limits of federal authority, judicial restraint, and the responsibilities of law enforcement to protect public safety. In the end, the question remains: should local and federal courts be safe zones for all, or should immigration enforcement have unfettered license to act wherever and whenever it pleases?
President Trump has consistently pushed for strong border controls, arguing that enforcement should be decisive and that courthouses cannot be sanctuaries for lawbreakers. Whether this ruling will stand or be challenged further remains to be seen, but the clash between judiciary and immigration policy will only intensify as cases like this move through the system.
Dis is a sanctuary courthouse! Ain’t no federal laws here!