'Silence speaks volumes': Judge blasts Trump admin for its 'shockingly cavalier' actions pulling work authorization from man tasked with protecting citizens

A judge has ordered national officials to let an Illinois constabulary serviceman to instrumentality to work, criticizing the Trump administration for its "shockingly cavalier" attack to the man's livelihood based connected claims that helium is successful the state illegally.

U.S. District Judge Jorge Luis Alonso granted Radule Bojovic's petition for a impermanent restraining bid (TRO) against the Trump medication connected Tuesday. The Illinois jurist's six-page order means the Department of Homeland Security cannot restrict Bojovic's employment with the Hanover Park Police Department portion the migration lawsuit against Bojovic — who has been successful the U.S. for astir a twelve years — plays out.

Bojovic, a autochthonal of Montenegro, entered the U.S. successful 2014 with his family, the judge's bid recounts. His begetter past filed an "Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal" that included then-16-year-old Bojovic. As the exertion has been pending for much than a decade, Bojovic applied for and received employment authorization from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), with the astir caller renewal coming successful September 2025.

During that time, Bojovic trained and worked with the Hanover Park Police Department, which congratulated Bojovic connected graduating from the area's Suburban Law Enforcement Academy conscionable 1 period earlier that renewal. The section bureau added that helium was acceptable to statesman an "intensive 15 weeks of tract grooming and valuation arsenic helium continues preparing to service the Hanover Park community."

However, successful October 2025, arsenic national migration officers flooded Chicago and its suburbs arsenic portion of Operation Midway Blitz, Bojovic was arrested. DHS and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) boasted astir the arrest, saying helium "overstayed his visa by much than 10 years" and was "prohibited from owning oregon possessing firearms" due to the fact that helium was an "illegal alien."

The national agencies besides took the accidental to denounce Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker — a frequent critic of President Donald Trump — and blasted him for what they believed was a unsafe error.

"Pritzker doesn't conscionable let convulsive amerciable aliens to terrorize Illinois's communities, helium allows amerciable aliens to enactment arsenic sworn constabulary officers," then-Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said. "What benignant of constabulary section gives transgression amerciable aliens badges and guns?"

"This is conscionable the latest lawsuit of Governor JB Pritzker's continued refusal to abide by national laws, jeopardizing the payment of Illinois residents," the ICE press release added.

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Following the officer's arrest, helium was detained for 2 weeks earlier being released connected bond, the justice recounts. He returned to enactment successful November, adjacent arsenic the national authorities initiated removal proceedings against him.

On Dec. 11, 2025, USCIS issued a "Notice of Intent to Revoke" (NOIR) regarding his employment authorization, contempt the authorization being renewed conscionable months earlier. USCIS contended that Bojovic had been removed from his father's asylum exertion 8 days earlier, though Bojovic "claims that this is untrue and/or erroneous."

In January, Bojovic was notified that his employment authorization was so revoked, "stating that helium had not responded to the NOIR and reiterating that helium had been removed from his father's asylum exertion connected December 3, 2025." Bojovic insisted that helium did respond to the announcement — connected clip and via FedEx — and that reply, according to the judge, "correctly explained that the factual ground for revocation asserted successful the NOIR was incorrect."

Bojovic subsequently filed a ailment to person his enactment authorization reinstated and moved for a TRO truthful that helium could spell backmost to work.

He says that not being capable to enactment volition effect successful a "complete nonaccomplishment of income" and "will origin him to endure the hazard of irreparable harm owed to harm to his vocation prospects and his inability to conscionable his fiscal obligations," the justice recounts.

The Trump administration, however, dismissed those concerns, arguing "economic harms are not irreparable and harm to vocation prospects is simply speculative."

Alonso, a Barack Obama appointee, appeared to beryllium taken aback by the national government's response.

"Defendants are shockingly cavalier astir the consequences that whitethorn travel from the nonaccomplishment of a person's livelihood and the interruption of a fledgling career," helium wrote, adding that a effect little from the medication to Bojovic's ailment "is astir notable for what it does not say: it does not support USCIS's revocation determination connected its ain terms. That soundlessness speaks volumes."

"Taking each the facts and circumstances into consideration, and accounting for the precocious likelihood of success, the equities measurement alternatively decisively successful Plaintiff's favor," Alonso concludes. "Plaintiff is simply a nationalist servant who has not been shown to contiguous immoderate menace to the assemblage (quite the opposite, if anything), and the Court fails to spot what the authorities gains by suspending his employment without wage based connected what appears apt to be, truthful acold arsenic the parties person shown astatine this aboriginal stage, a ineligible and/or factual error."

A presumption proceeding connected this lawsuit is scheduled for Thursday morning.