President Donald Trump’s Department of Homeland Security scored a significant legal win on Thursday regarding its immigration enforcement surge.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement launched Operation Midway Blitz in September, intending to target criminal illegal aliens hiding behind sanctuary policies in Chicago, Illinois.
‘President Trump is trying to protect American citizens while local elected officials REFUSE to do so.’
The following month, organizations representing journalists and residents filed a complaint against the Trump administration, accusing federal agents of responding to the protesters “with a pattern of extreme brutality in a concerted and ongoing effort to silence the press and civilians.”
The plaintiffs claimed that federal agents had “injured and sickened” civilians and the press through the use of force and tear gas.
“The officers are not physically threatened,” the complaint read.
The lawsuit requested that the court prevent federal agents from continuing to use alleged “unconstitutional tactics.”
RELATED: Ramming attacks on ICE spike, endangering agents as Democrats continue to spew hateful rhetoric
Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images
In November, a federal judge in Chicago issued a broad injunction in response to the complaint, placing restrictions on the use of force.
“The use of force shocks the conscience,” U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis stated.
The Department of Homeland Security appealed the federal judge’s ruling, calling the injunction “an extreme act by an activist judge that risks the lives and livelihoods of law enforcement officers.”
On Thursday, the 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 to lift the injunction, claiming that the lower court had “granted an overbroad, constitutionally suspect injunction.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi called the appeals court’s decision “a huge legal win” for Trump.
“President Trump is trying to protect American citizens while local elected officials REFUSE to do so. @thejusticedept attorneys were proud to argue this case. We will continue fighting and WINNING for the President’s law-and-order agenda,” Bondi wrote in a post on X.
RELATED: Anti-ICE mob turns hostile, breaching barriers outside detention facility — several officers injured
Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images
The plaintiffs previously requested that Ellis dismiss the case after the operation had wound down. The judge granted that motion in January.
The appeals court was critical of Ellis’ decision to dismiss the lawsuit without prejudice, stating that “any class members or the lead plaintiffs could refile these claims tomorrow.”
“They could ask the district court to reinstate a near-identical preliminary injunction, adopting the facts and legal reasoning from the district court’s order,” the majority wrote, adding that they could “help avoid that pitfall by vacating the order that depends on these conclusions.”
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
