Judge hesitant to grant dismissal of lawsuit over immigration agents’
use-of-force tactics in Chicago
[January 09, 2026]
By Hannah Meisel
CHICAGO — A federal judge on Thursday registered worry over this week’s
fatal shooting in Minneapolis by a U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement agent as she asked for more time in deciding whether to
dismiss a lawsuit over federal agents’ use-of-force tactics against
protesters in Chicago and surrounding areas.
Just before the Trump administration’s “Operation Midway Blitz” abruptly
wound down its Chicago area immigration enforcement campaign in
November, U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis issued a preliminary injunction
that indefinitely restricts agents’ ability to use force, including riot
control weapons like tear gas. But after the Chicago-based 7th Circuit
Court of Appeals stayed Ellis’ ruling two weeks later, plaintiffs filed
a motion to voluntarily dismiss the case.
But during a hearing Thursday, Ellis expressed some skepticism about the
wisdom of that maneuver. The judge cited Wednesday’s fatal shooting of
motorist Renee Good by an ICE agent in Minneapolis.
“And it doesn’t give me much comfort in reading news reports that
someone who — in some news reports, anyway — was described as a legal
observer was shot yesterday in Minneapolis,” Ellis said. “So that is my
concern.”
Video of the incident contradicts the Trump administration’s narrative
that the shooting was justified because Good was boxing in agents with
her car and attempting to use it as a weapon.
Wednesday’s shooting echoes the case of Miramar Martinez, which was
overseen by Ellis’ colleague this fall. Martinez was also accused of
having boxed in immigration agents with her car in an early October
incident on Chicago’s South West side before a Border Patrol agent shot
her five times. She was charged with assaulting federal immigration
agents but Martinez denied allegations that she was a threat. By
mid-November, the case fell apart and prosecutors asked that the charges
be dismissed.
At several times over the course of litigation in the riot control
weapons case this fall, Ellis noted her belief that the Trump
administration, especially U.S. Customs and Border Patrol Commander
Gregory Bovino, had lied about the tenor of protests of immigration
enforcement actions in order to justify using force against
demonstrators.
[to top of second column]
|
Several immigration enforcement agents push back media and
protestors as U.S. Customs and Border Patrol chief Gregory Bovino
makes his way out of the federal courthouse in downtown Chicago on
Oct. 28. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Andrew Adams)
Initially, Ellis had scheduled an early March trial in the case based on
news reports that Bovino would return to the Chicago area in the early
spring with a much larger contingent of agents, telling attorneys during
a mid-November hearing that, “It would make sense that if it does ramp
up again, everyone knows what the rules are.” But granting the
plaintiffs’ motion for voluntary dismissal of the case would cancel the
trial.
Ellis also cited Bovino’s brief return to Chicago in December and news
reports this week that several dozen Border Patrol agents had returned
to the area Tuesday night before she asked lawyers for the plaintiffs if
they still want to move forward with dismissal.
After attorneys confirmed that was still the plan, the judge said that
while she “certainly cannot force plaintiffs to litigate a case they
don’t want to litigate,” she still has “an obligation to protect the
interests of the class.” The complaint was filed as a class-action
lawsuit and Ellis certified the class this fall.
“If I dismiss this case, the preliminary injunction ceases to exist,”
she said. “Certainly, given my ruling, I believe that the evidence in
this case justified the need for a preliminary injunction to govern the
actions of the government when interacting with legal observers,
journalists and protesters.”
Moving to dismiss the lawsuit will prevent the 7th Circuit or U.S.
Supreme Court from giving the Trump administration any permanent
expanded powers against civilians. Despite the specter of losses on
appeal, plaintiffs’ lawyers have framed ending the case as a win.
Ellis asked for more time before making her final decision on dismissal,
scheduling the next hearing for Jan. 22.
Reporter Maggie Dougherty contributed to this story.
Capitol News Illinois is
a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government
coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily
by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation. |
