Judge's Order to Require Chicago ICE Agents to Use Bodycams

CHICAGO—A federal judge in Chicago on Thursday said she is “profoundly concerned” that immigration agents are violating her orders restricting the use of tear gas on media and protesters and ordered the field director for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement into court to answer questions.

U.S. District Judge Sarah Ellis also modified the temporary restraining order issued last week to require any body-worn cameras agents are wearing to be turned on during an encounter with the public.

The judge’s ire over what’s been happening on the street over the past week was apparent during an hourlong hearing Thursday, which covered alleged violations by immigration officers in recent clashes, including one on Chicago’s East Side after agents used a controversial and potentially dangerous maneuver to disable a fleeing vehicle, then tear-gassed people during a tense gathering at the scene. A Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman alleged protesters were throwing rocks at officers.

“I am profoundly concerned about what has been happening over the last week, since I entered this order,” Ellis said.

The judge ordered ICE Field Director Russell Hott into court to answer questions Monday, saying he’d be in the best position to update her on how the agencies are adapting to follow her orders.

“If everybody kind of follows what’s outlined in this TRO, conforms their decisions and behavior to what the Constitution demands, then, you know, all copacetic and we can go on and live our lives,” Ellis said.

The hearing comes a week after Ellis ruled that federal agents violated the rights of news reporters and protesters responding to immigration arrests in Chicago, and restricted future actions against them.

Ellis’s restraining order forbids agents from firing tear gas and other projectiles at peaceful protesters, clergy or journalists unless they pose an immediate threat of physical harm to a person, and to do so only after issuing warnings. Agents were also ordered to stop dispersing people if they have a lawful right to be at a location.

“The actions taken by some of those federal agents clearly violated the Constitution,” the judge said in her ruling. “Individuals are allowed to protest. They are allowed to speak. That is guaranteed by the First Amendment to our Constitution, and it is a bedrock right that upholds our democracy.”

Attorneys for the U.S. Department of Justice have objected to the temporary restraining order, and told the judge that the order “will be unworkable and will cause a lot of problems.”

The ruling came in response to a lawsuit filed the Chicago Headline Club, journalists’ unions, Block Club Chicago and other media outlets and reporters against Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and other federal agencies and agents. The order only applies in the northern court district of Illinois, and did not apply to President Donald Trump, who was named in the suit.

The suit claimed federal agents used brutality and excessive force against reporters and protesters. While some lawlessness has occurred, the judge said, she cited several examples of alleged unprovoked attacks by federal agents.

In advance of Thursday’s hearing, the plaintiffs filed a motion asking for expedited discovery ahead of a hearing next week on a full injunction. The motion stated that both sides had met on Wednesday to discuss potential violations of the TRO, “in which federal officers appear to be using violence, tear gas, and other munitions against protestors and journalists.”

“Young children and even babies appear to have been subjected to the indiscriminate use of tear gas by defendants’ officers,” the motion stated. “And it does not appear that defendants’ agents are consistently wearing prominently displayed visible identification.”

The government, according to the motion, “believes the TRO has not been violated at all.”

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