ICE takes down murderers and child predator in latest roundup



Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested several criminal illegal aliens, including those with convictions for murder and child sexual abuse.

A Department of Homeland Security press release obtained by Blaze News highlighted five arrests made by ICE on Wednesday.

'President Trump has been clear: If you break the law, you will face the consequences.'

"U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announces the arrest of more criminal illegal aliens convicted for heinous crimes, including murder, lewd acts with a child, forcible sexual abuse, and possession and intent to distribute methamphetamine," the press release stated.

The DHS noted that nearly 70% of the immigration agency's arrests are of illegal aliens with prior charges or convictions in the United States.

The agency highlighted the capture of Santos Cornelio Ramos Vasquez, an illegal alien from Guatemala. Ramos Vasquez is a registered sex offender who was convicted on two counts of lewd or lascivious acts with a minor child under 14 years old in Los Angeles, California.

RELATED: White House offers concessions to end DHS shutdown — but Dems still choose illegal aliens over unpaid American TSA agents

Santos Cornelio Ramos Vasquez. Image source: Department of Homeland Security

Cesar Verduzco-Rojas, an illegal alien from Mexico, was also arrested by ICE officers. He was previously convicted of murder in Perris, California. According to the San Bernardino Sun, Verduzco-Rojas was accused of killing a 24-year-old Mead Valley man in 2021. The victim was found behind the wheel of his vehicle, deceased from gunshot wounds.

Cesar Verduzco-Rojas. Image source: Department of Homeland Security

Federal immigration agents nabbed Jermaine Dalton Crosley, an illegal alien from Jamaica who was previously convicted of third-degree murder in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Court records revealed that Dalton Crosley was accused of fatally shooting a man who had allowed him to live on his property. A physical altercation ensued after the man demanded Dalton Crosley vacate.

Jermaine Dalton Crosley. Image source: Department of Homeland Security

Alber Eleazar Blanco, an illegal alien from Venezuela, was nabbed by immigration agents. He has a prior conviction in Provo, Utah, for forcible sexual abuse. Based on sex offender registry data, Blanco is 33 years old and lives in Spanish Fork, Utah.

Alber Eleazar Blanco. Image source: Department of Homeland Security

The final arrest noted by the DHS was Jose Manuel Ruiz Preciado, an illegal alien from Mexico. He was convicted in the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas of possession and intent to distribute methamphetamine.

RELATED: Georgia city cuts water to planned ICE detention center

Jose Manuel Ruiz Preciado. Image source: Department of Homeland Security

"The media and sanctuary politicians continuously ignore the criminal illegal aliens ICE law enforcement is arresting from American neighborhoods," DHS acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis stated.

"Yesterday alone, ICE arrested multiple murderers, pedophiles, and drug traffickers. President Trump has been clear: If you break the law, you will face the consequences," Bis continued. "Criminal illegal aliens are not welcome in the U.S."

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Parents enraged over adult illegal alien allegedly molesting Virginia high school girls



Israel Flores-Ortiz, an illegal alien from El Salvador who stole into the U.S. in 2024 and was subsequently released by the Biden administration, is accused of molesting at least nine girls at Fairfax High School in Virginia where he was enrolled in the 11th grade, even though he is at least 18 years old.

Adding insult to injury, the school allegedly downplayed the scandal.

'They have attempted to sweep it under the rug.'

The alleged offenses took place as recently as Feb. 25. Flores-Ortiz was arrested on March 7 and has been charged with nine counts of assault and battery.

"There's a group of about 12 individuals that have reported this assault," a mother of one of the victims told WJLA-TV. "It was all perpetrated by a single individual who is a stranger to the girls. He just sneakily walked up behind them and put his hand in between their legs. It was not just a butt smack or a butt grab. It was a groping of a private area. It had been occurring for several months."

Two of the victims' mothers said that the school was doing a terrible job handling the situation.

"Abysmal, abysmal," said one of the mothers. "I think from the very beginning, Fairfax County has attempted to diminish what happened to these girls."

Fairfax High School principal Georgina Aye reportedly waited over two weeks after the incidents were reported to notify parents in an email, "We are writing to share the news of the recent arrest of a student who was charged with inappropriately touching other students at school. These incidents involved the student touching students’ buttocks while they were transitioning in the hallways."

RELATED: ICE arrests child-diddlers and ecstasy traffickers while Dems try to 'score brownie points,' DHS says

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D). Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images.

Parents lashed out over Aye's claim that the alleged molestation was simply a matter of a "student touching students’ buttocks."

"Yeah, no, I would not be here for butt slapping," one mother told WJLA. "I would, I mean, I would be upset about that, but this wouldn't be my second day this week here at the courthouse for that. It was a clear violation. He put his hand in between my daughter's legs, and the butt was actually the last thing that he touched."

Another mother said, "The girls have experienced harassment and bullying from peers at school, including people that they once thought were their friends, and the letter that they sent out, referencing it only as buttocks touching, just adds fuel to rumors that they were just attention seeking."

"They have attempted to sweep it under the rug," said one mother.

The City of Fairfax School Board, which oversees Fairfax High School in partnership with the FCPS, said in a statement on Monday that it "takes the recent situation at Fairfax High School very seriously."

"We support the students who have been directly affected and encourage members of the Fairfax High School community to support one another during this difficult time. Inappropriate conduct has no place in our schools, and we understand the concern and distress this incident has caused for students and families," said the school board. "We also want to express our support for Principal Dr. Georgina Aye, a student-centered leader who has devoted her career to serving and supporting students. We have confidence in her leadership."

In addition to receiving what one victim's mother described as "a completely sanitized letter" from the school's purportedly "student-centered leader," parents were allegedly informed by Fairfax County Public Schools that upon his release, Flores-Ortiz would return to school.

FCPS told WJLA in a statement, "While Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) is unable to comment on specifics due to federal and state privacy laws, we prioritize student and staff safety and we fully investigate any time someone shares that an incident has occurred at school, or that they do not feel safe at school."

FCPS did not respond to a request for comment from Blaze News.

ICE issued a detainer for Ortiz, the agency told WJLA, "to ensure this violent criminal is removed from our country so he can never claim another victim again."

Fairfax County Sheriff Stacey Kincaid's (D) office told Blaze News in a statement:

Israel Flores Ortiz remains in the custody of the Sheriff’s Office in the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center (ADC). While it is still too early in the process to know the outcome of his case, ICE has been notified of Ortiz’s location at the ADC, and they are able to execute their detainer by responding to the ADC and taking Ortiz into custody if and when he is ordered released.

The Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office does not obstruct or prevent ICE from acting on their civil detainers.

Flores-Ortiz reportedly requested to be released on bail. Fairfax County Commonwealth's Attorney Steve Descano's (D) office told Blaze News that there was a bond hearing, but "after listening to arguments, the judge decided to hold him. He is being held."

Judge Dipti Pidikiti-Smith reportedly denied Ortiz's request on Friday after reviewing surveillance video of one of the incidents.

"This 19-year-old criminal illegal alien should NOT have been attending a Virginia high school and allowed to prey on innocent teenage girls. He now faces nine counts of assault and battery. This is yet another example of the Biden administration’s failed open border policies," DHS Deputy Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement.

"We are calling on Fairfax County sanctuary politicians to NOT release this predator from jail back into our communities to assault more teenage women," continued Bis. "Unfortunately, Governor Abigail Spanberger ended cooperation with ICE and is siding with criminal illegal aliens over American citizens."

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Georgia city cuts water to planned ICE detention center



Officials in a Georgia city have locked Immigration and Customs Enforcement out of accessing the local water supply for the agency’s planned mega-detention facility.

ICE’s plans to open a detention center in Social Circle, Georgia, first became public in December, when the Washington Post reported that the Trump administration aims to overhaul the immigration detention system by renovating seven large-scale warehouses to hold 5,000 to 10,000 people each.

'The lock is there until ICE indicates how water and sewer will be served without exceeding our limited infrastructure capacity.'

The warehouses will reportedly be located in major logistics hubs: Virginia, Texas, Louisiana, Arizona, Georgia, and Missouri. ICE would also establish other smaller warehouses capable of holding 1,500 people each.

According to the Post, ICE plans to establish a feeder system in which individuals would be booked into smaller processing sites and then funneled into one of the seven larger detention facilities for holding while they await deportation. This new system reportedly aims to speed up deportations.

The Post’s article revealed that one of those mega-centers would be located in Social Circle, a plan which city officials have called “infeasible,” citing limitations on local water and sewer infrastructure.

“The mayor and city council of the City of Social Circle unequivocally does not support an ICE detention facility in the city or the surrounding areas,” the city said in a December statement.

Later reports revealed that the DHS is planning eight large detention centers, not seven.

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Photo by Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images

Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) and Social Circle Mayor David Keener released a joint statement in January insisting that the detention facility is “not right for Social Circle, and the City of Social Circle does not support it.”

“We are urging the administration to abandon this plan, which risks overwhelming the city’s resources and more than tripling its population,” the joint statement reads.

Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) joined local leaders in opposing the planned facility.

“Folks in Social Circle voted for this president overwhelmingly,” Warnock stated March 3. “But here’s what they didn’t vote for — they didn’t vote for a 10,000-person detention center that will triple the size of their town, to place a massive detention center next to an elementary school. They didn’t vote for potential ‘boil water’ advisories or sewer overflows because this administration has overstrained their city’s resources. They didn’t vote for their voices to be unheard and trampled by their own federal government.”

In early February, Social Circle confirmed that ICE had purchased a facility within the city and that local officials had met with the Department of Homeland Security to discuss the plan.

The city claimed the DHS plans to “fully implement” its new detention center model, which involves transitioning from private operations to government-owned facilities, by the end of the fiscal year.

“DHS plans to implement a ‘Hub and Spoke Model,’ in which four smaller processing facilities will feed into the larger detention facilities,” the city said. “The proposed facility in Social Circle is identified as one of eight ‘mega centers’ that will be located across the nation. Overall, ICE intends to reduce its number of facilities from approximately 300 to 34 nationwide. The facility in Social Circle is expected to house anywhere from 7,500 to 10,000 detainees and will be constructed using a modular design so that capacity can be scaled up or down as needed.”

The city stated that the facility will employ roughly 2,000 to 2,500 staff members and include holding areas, gyms, recreational spaces, court facilities, intake areas, cafeterias, laundry facilities, health services, and a gun range.

Social Circle estimated that ICE will begin intake at the detention center between mid-May and June.

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Photographer: Elijah Nouvelage/Bloomberg via Getty Images

DHS reportedly committed that the facility will have “no adverse effect on the community and surrounding properties”; however, city officials are not convinced, claiming that concerns about its water and sewage capacity have not been addressed to their satisfaction.

“Documents provided by DHS indicate this detention facility alone would have a sewage demand of 1,001,683 gallons per day. The city’s current wastewater system processes 660,000 gallons a day and is already operating at capacity. It cannot accommodate an increase in usage of this magnitude,” the city stated.

While Social Circle plans to build a sewer treatment plant that would initially increase its capacity by 1.5 million gallons per day, construction has not yet begun, and it is projected to take one year to 18 months to complete.

As a result, city officials have opted to cut off water and sewer services to ICE's facility by locking the water meter serving the warehouse.

“The lock is there until ICE indicates how water and sewer will be served without exceeding our limited infrastructure capacity,” Social Circle said Monday.

Blaze News requested comment from the city regarding whether it or any other local or state government entity was required to review or approve the sale of the warehouse to ICE.

“The federal government acted unilaterally to acquire the property. Nobody from the city was consulted prior to purchase,” City Manager Eric Taylor replied.

Walton County told Blaze News that it “had no correspondence or communication with the federal government, the Department of Homeland Security, or any private contractors regarding the detention center’s establishment.”

“The facility in question is located within the city limits of Social Circle. Consequently, all planning, zoning, and land use matters fall under the exclusive jurisdiction of the City of Social Circle,” the county stated. “There was no requirement for Walton County to review, approve, or sign off on the purchase of the warehouse. As this is a private property transaction within city limits, the county was not a party to the sale or any associated federal agreements.”

Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp’s office stated, “As this is a federal project the state has no involvement in, I would have to refer you to the Department of Homeland Security for more information.”

DHS did not respond to a request for comment.

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'Deeply disturbing': Florida man enters plea in monkey torture video case



A Florida man entered a plea at the beginning of the month following a particularly disturbing case involving monkeys investigated by Homeland Security Investigations.

Francisco Javier Ravelo, 36, of Coral Gables, Florida, pleaded guilty on March 2 to distributing videos depicting the torture of monkeys. Ravelo was charged in October 2025.

'It reflects a willingness to dominate, torture, and inflict suffering without remorse.'

The Department of Justice's press release, citing court documents, explains that Ravelo, a U.S. citizen, "created some and administered some online chat groups dedicated to the distribution and discussion of sexual and violent videos depicting monkeys being mutilated and burned, including baby and adult monkeys."

The DOJ said Ravelo personally distributed "more than 40 of these obscene crush videos."

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U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

U.S. law defines "animal crushing" as "actual conduct in which one or more living non-human mammals, birds, reptiles, or amphibians is purposely crushed, burned, drowned, suffocated, impaled, or otherwise subjected to serious bodily injury."

"In his first term, President Donald J. Trump signed the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act into law to end animal crushing," said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division. "If you are involved in this sadistic activity, we will prosecute you."

U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida said: "Deliberate cruelty to animals is one of the clearest red flags. It reflects a willingness to dominate, torture, and inflict suffering without remorse. The defendant didn't merely view this material. He created and administered online groups devoted to it and distributed dozens of obscene animal torture videos. That conduct fuels a market built on brutality."

HSI New Orleans, HSI Pensacola, the local U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the U.S. Department of Justice's Environment and Natural Resources Division investigated the case that led to Ravelo's guilty plea, according to an ICE press release.

Ravelo faces a maximum penalty of seven years in prison.

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ICE arrests child-diddlers and ecstasy traffickers while Dems try to 'score brownie points,' DHS says



The Department of Homeland Security criticized the left-wing media for overlooking the fact that most immigration arrests involve illegal aliens with prior charges or convictions.

The department highlighted Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Thursday arrests of pedophiles and other criminals in a press release exclusively obtained by Blaze News.

'Instead of trying to score brownie points, sanctuary politicians should be thanking our law enforcement officers.'

Meanwhile, the DHS has remained without funding for one month, with Democrat lawmakers refusing to vote to reopen the agency without stringent reforms to ICE. On Thursday, senators voted for the fourth time against a bill that would fully restore funding to the DHS.

"Yesterday, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested more criminal illegal aliens convicted for sexual conduct against a child, sexual assault, conspiracy to distribute narcotics, and other horrific crimes," the Friday DHS press release read.

Immigration agents captured Jose Mendez, an illegal alien from El Salvador who was previously convicted of sexual conduct against a child in Mineola, New York.

RELATED: 'Heinous' thug accused of shoving 83-year-old military vet onto NYC subway tracks was deported 4 times, charged 15 times: DHS

Jose Mendez. Image source: Department of Homeland Security

Edgar Martinez-Funez, an illegal alien from Honduras, was also nabbed by federal officers. He was previously convicted of attempted aggravated sexual assault of a child in Dallas County, Texas.

Edgar Martinez-Funez. Image source: Department of Homeland Security

ICE arrested Victor Enrique Perez-Sanchez, an illegal immigrant from Mexico who was convicted of sexual assault in Lamesa, Texas.

Victor Enrique Perez-Sanchez. Image source: Department of Homeland Security

Hein Ngoc Nguyen, an illegal alien from Vietnam, was convicted twice for conspiracy to distribute narcotics, conspiracy to distribute, and possession with intent to distribute MDMA in Fairview Heights, Illinois. MDMA is the drug more commonly referred to as molly or ecstasy.

Hein Ngoc Nguyen. Image source: Department of Homeland Security

The DHS also highlighted the arrest of Angel Geovanni Garcia-Bermudez. He is an illegal alien from Mexico who was convicted of trafficking fentanyl in Franklin County, Ohio.

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Angel Geovanni Garcia-Bermudez. Image source: Department of Homeland Security

“The media and sanctuary politicians continue to ignore that nearly 70% of ICE arrests are of illegal aliens charged or convicted of a crime in the U.S.,” DHS Deputy Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis stated.

“Yesterday, the brave men and women of ICE risked their lives to get pedophiles, sexual assailants, drug dealers, and other scumbags out of this country,” Bis continued. “Instead of trying to score brownie points, sanctuary politicians should be thanking our law enforcement officers for removing the worst of the worst from American communities.”

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Defending Education launches K-12 school protest tracker — records 269 walkouts already in 2026



Defending Education has launched a protest tracker of K-12 student walkouts, Blaze News has learned. The national grassroots organization released the tracker amid a surge of student protests against immigration enforcement efforts.

Defending Education estimated that the number of school protests has significantly increased since 2022. The organization gathered this information from social media posts, news articles, and press releases.

'By allowing these protests, school leaders are increasing the chance of harm befalling students and decreasing much-needed instructional time in the classroom.'

The K-12 Student Walkout and Protest Tracker estimated 21 demonstrations in 2022, 10 in 2023, 13 in 2024, and 43 in 2025. So far, in 2026, Defending Education calculated that there have been 269 protests at U.S. schools.

Walkouts were recorded in 48 states and the District of Columbia and involved approximately 421 schools, including 33 middle schools.

“The total listed is on the low end of the overall number of schools that had student walkouts/protests due to many news articles not listing names of specific schools that participated,” Defending Education noted.

A number of the total protests, 74, were organized or assisted by activist clubs or nonprofits.

RELATED: Defending Education gives parents tools to fight leftist indoctrination

Photo by John Moore/Getty Images

Defending Education’s tracker provided a list of those protests by state and district, noting in each instance the cause behind the walkouts.

The reasons for the demonstrations included disapproval of Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions and President Donald Trump, as well as support for the LGBT community and Palestine. Students organized marches to raise awareness about climate change, for school funding, and to call for stricter gun laws.

RELATED: Brawl breaks out when police chief in street clothes tries to arrest HS girl protesting ICE. Now some want chief to resign.

Photo by JEFF PACHOUD/AFP via Getty Images

Defending Education noted that its current list is not comprehensive and will be updated as the organization receives additional information.

“This data shows a multiyear trend of student walkouts for the latest far-left political cause. By allowing these protests, school leaders are increasing the chance of harm befalling students and decreasing much-needed instructional time in the classroom. Administrators need to put an end to these acts of ‘civil disobedience’ before they lose complete control,” Rhyen Staley, the research director at Defending Education, stated.

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How to break Washington’s dumbest habit



Every year, Congress flirts with a government shutdown, driven by partisan squabbling and political showmanship. It’s an avoidable cycle that harms taxpayers, disrupts businesses, and creates uncertainty for the public — without producing meaningful policy outcomes. Shutdowns have become a costly ritual Washington should abandon.

Last year’s record 43-day shutdown brought large parts of government to a standstill. Flights were canceled. Permits stalled. Military personnel and civilian federal workers went without paychecks. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that the lapse caused as much as $14 billion in permanent GDP loss — about the size of Kosovo’s entire economy.

Supporters of shutdown brinkmanship claim deadlines create leverage to force policy changes. In practice, shutdowns harden positions instead of producing compromise.

Now Democrats are holding up funding for the Department of Homeland Security, which has been closed for over a month. This partial shutdown is hitting TSA workers and other essential homeland security personnel.

Nobody wins in a shutdown.

The good news: Congress has tools to stop this nonsense for good. Last year, Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) and Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) reintroduced the Prevent Government Shutdowns Act. The bill would keep the government operating temporarily at current funding levels while negotiations continue on longer-term deals. It would also bar members of Congress from spending taxpayer dollars on travel, taking recess, or considering most non-spending legislation until they finish the budget.

Shutdowns don’t save money. Agencies burn time and resources preparing contingency plans, restarting operations, and cleaning up the mess. Workers ultimately receive back pay after funding is restored. Taxpayers foot the bill for Washington’s dysfunction.

Financial markets and businesses also pay a price. Companies that depend on permits, contracts, or federal data releases face delays that disrupt investment decisions. Entrepreneurs seeking approvals may postpone hiring or expansion. Credit rating agencies have warned repeatedly that shutdown brinkmanship undermines confidence in America’s governance — an unnecessary risk for the world’s largest economy.

The politics make reform urgent. Nearly all government funding is set to expire just weeks before Election Day, a pressure point at the height of campaign season. Recent history shows how easily the minority party can see strategic advantage in prolonging a lapse to reinforce a narrative of chaos and dysfunction heading into the midterms.

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RonBailey via iStock/Getty Images

Americans expect disagreement in a democracy. They also expect basic governance to continue. Shutdowns signal that politicians will use essential functions as bargaining chips. That deepens cynicism about institutions and reinforces the belief that Washington prizes partisan victories over practical solutions.

Supporters of shutdown brinkmanship claim deadlines create leverage to force policy changes. Last year, Democrats tried to use a shutdown threat to extend temporary, expensive tax credits to subsidize Obamacare. In other cases, Republicans tried to use shutdowns to force a repeal of Obamacare. Neither strategy worked. In practice, shutdowns harden positions instead of producing compromise.

Ideally, Congress would pass the 12 regular appropriations bills before the fiscal year begins on October 1. It hasn’t done that in nearly 30 years, largely because the process has become a political weapon.

Avoiding shutdowns doesn’t mean abandoning fiscal discipline. It means recognizing that responsible governing requires stability alongside vigorous debate. Congress can fight over spending levels, taxes, and policy priorities without threatening the continuity of government operations.

Washington should end the brinkmanship, reopen the government, and adopt reforms that keep shutdown threats from holding the country hostage again.

Bondi hails ‘huge’ win in Chicago after federal judge placed restrictions on ICE agents



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."

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