ATTORNEY GENERAL RAOUL DEFENDS LIMITS ON ICE WARRANTLESS ARRESTS

ATTORNEY GENERAL RAOUL DEFENDS LIMITS ON ICE WARRANTLESS ARRESTS

September 09, 2026

Chicago - Attorney General Kwame Raoul, as part of a coalition of attorneys general, urged a federal appeals court to uphold a lower court order enjoining U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers from making warrantless arrests unless they follow statutory safeguards.

In an amicus brief filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit in Ramirez Ovando v. Mullin, the coalition argues that the preliminary injunction currently in place serves the public interest by requiring federal immigration officers to comply with existing legal guardrails. Federal law allows immigration officers to make an arrest without a warrant only when there is probable cause to believe a person is unlawfully present and is likely to escape before a warrant can be obtained.

"The Trump administration's heavy-handed immigration enforcement tactics do nothing but instill fear and distrust in immigrant communities," Raoul said. "I will continue to stand with my fellow attorneys general to fight against the kind of illegal and immoral actions we have seen and in support of the rights of all immigrants."

A federal district court in Colorado issued the preliminary injunction after finding that ICE officers had made unlawful warrantless arrests without determining whether individuals were likely to escape before a warrant could be obtained. The court later found that ICE continued making arrests in violation of the injunction. Federal officials appealed the injunction.

Raoul and the coalition's brief emphasizes the importance of the flight-risk requirement, which prevents federal agents from making warrantless arrests without an individualized determination that a person is likely to flee. The states argue that disregarding this safeguard creates widespread consequences, including reduced school attendance, disruptions to businesses and local economies, avoidance of medical care, and diminished trust in law enforcement that can make victims and witnesses less likely to report crimes.

The coalition argues that the injunction does not interfere with lawful federal immigration enforcement. Instead, it requires immigration officers to operate within the limits Congress established and protects the public from the broader harms caused when federal agents act outside their lawful authority.

The amicus brief is the latest in Raoul's efforts to demand that the Trump administration follow the law when conducting immigration enforcement. In January, Raoul filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Trump administration officials over the unlawful and dangerous tactics used by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and ICE agents in Illinois. Raoul's lawsuit details the various ways the Trump administration has attempted to coerce Illinois over policy differences, including by unlawfully withholding federal funds and attempting to deploy the Illinois and Texas National Guards in the state. In September 2025, DHS deployed quasi-military personnel from CBP and ICE to Illinois, initiating a campaign of violent terror targeted at the state and its residents that involved the fatal shooting of an Illinois resident. That lawsuit includes a claim asserting that, as in Colorado, CBP and ICE agents have not complied with federal law in their widespread use of warrantless arrests in Illinois.

Roaul was joined in filing today's brief by the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Washington.