\n A US appeals court has temporarily blocked an order curtailing federal immigration enforcement in Chicago, arguing the lower court judge overstepped when she imposed strict and wide-reaching restraints on how agents can interact with protesters and journalists.\n <\/p>\n
\n A three-judge panel for the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday granted the Trump administration\u2019s emergency request to pause the order issued by US District Court Judge Sara Ellis earlier this month.\n <\/p>\n
\n In an incremental victory for the Trump administration, the appeals panel concluded Ellis\u2019s order<\/a> was \u201ctoo prescriptive,\u201d writing in their decision that she is \u201cimpermissibly infringing\u201d on the separation of powers between the executive branch and the courts.\n <\/p>\n \n This is yet another twist in what has been a tense legal showdown in Chicago between the administration \u2014 which desires wide latitude to use force on protesters who it says are violently hindering its immigration agents \u2014 and the judge \u2014 who has expressed deep skepticism over the government\u2019s presentation of the facts in court.\n <\/p>\n \n For months, plaintiffs\u2019 attorneys have complained to Ellis that federal agents have indiscriminately and without warning used chemical agents and other riot control measures against protesters \u2014 including members of the clergy \u2014 and reporters.\n <\/p>\n \n Ellis\u2019 order<\/a>, issued November 6, prohibited several methods of force, including pulling or shoving; required federal agents to give warnings before deploying tear gas or other riot control weapons; and stipulated that almost all agents must wear clear identification and body cameras.\n <\/p>\n \n The judge also ordered the government to turn over extensive use-of-force records and other internal records.\n <\/p>\n \n But the appeals panel criticized the scope of Ellis\u2019 order, saying it is so detailed it \u201cresembled federal regulation.\u201d They wrote that the order is so sweeping, it applies to almost any law enforcement personnel within the executive branch.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cThe district court\u2019s order enjoins an expansive range of defendants, including the President of the United States, the entire Departments of Homeland Security and Justice, and anyone acting in concert with them,\u201d the panel wrote in its decision.\n <\/p>\n \n The order comes one day before Ellis is set to issue her written opinion in the case that has required a high-level Border Patrol agent, Greg Bovino, to appear before her<\/a> in a downtown Chicago federal courtroom.\n <\/p>\n \n However, the pause of Ellis\u2019 order is only temporary as it considers the Trump administration\u2019s larger appeal.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cDo not overread today\u2019s order,\u201d the judges wrote, noting that they have a ream of facts to consider. \u201cThose findings may support entry of a more tailored and appropriate preliminary injunction that directly addresses the First and Fourth Amendment claims raised by these plaintiffs.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n At times, Ellis has chided ICE officials and federal attorneys in open court, saying their statements often \u201clack credibility.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n The judge expressed particular skepticism over a confrontation between federal agents and protesters in which DHS said use of force was justified because Bovino was hit in the head with a rock thrown by a demonstrator. Video did not support the claim and \u201cdefendant Bovino admitted that he lied<\/a>,\u201d the judge said.\n <\/p>\n