A federal judge on Tuesday denied the Trump administration's request to pause the release of hundreds of people detained during Operation Midway Blitz in the Chicago area.

U.S. District Court Judge Jeffrey Cummings said he is reviewing for potential violations of a consent decree.

The order requires Immigration and Customs Enforcement to place a subset of 615 people arrested by federal immigration officials during the operation into "alternatives to detention" programs or be released on bond while the judge determines whether they were illegally arrested, in violation of a 2022 court settlement that limited warrantless immigration arrests.

The judge noted that about 442 of the detainees are eligible to be potentially released by Friday under his order, as 75 people have been deported, 33 have already been released, and 57 have been identified by ICE as public safety threats, because of criminal histories or unspecified reasons. 

The 7th Circuit is also weighing a Justice Department appeal of the judge's order.

In September, the Department of Homeland Security launched Operation Midway Blitz in the Chicago area, which it said was in honor of Katie Abraham, who was killed in a drunk driving hit-and-run in January. DHS said the operation was to target "criminal illegal aliens."

Court documents show that of the more than 600 people detained by immigration agents in the Chicago area, only 16 of them have been identified by the federal government as a "high public safety risk" because of their alleged criminal histories.

Editor's note: A federal appeals court on Thursday, Nov. 20, ordered a stay on the release of the detainees pending appeal. The new order by the appeals court means the release of the detainees has been placed on hold.