'Concerned' judge orders ICE field director to address use of tear gas, wants agents to turn on body cams
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 Sara Ellis also said she was considering modifying the temporary restraining order issued last week to require any body 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. “I live in Chicago if folks haven’t noticed,” she said. “And I’m not blind, right? … I’m getting images and seeing images on the news, in the paper, reading reports where I’m having concerns about my order being followed.”
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.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/10/16/judge-orders-ice-field-director-into-court-tear-gas/
ICE is apparently a law unto itself