WOODSTOCK, Ill. (AP) — An Illinois judge has denied a request to free a man from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody, despite his lawyers’ insistence that he should be released under a new law.
Forty-six-year-old Niceforo Macedo-Hernandez was arrested on a domestic battery charge in August. His family posted his $500 bail, but McHenry County declined to release the inmate.
Macedo-Hernandez’s attorneys say he should be released under the Illinois Trust Act, which Gov. Bruce Rauner signed into law last week. The law prevents authorities from assisting with immigration actions unless there’s a warrant.
McHenry County Circuit Judge Michael Feetterer said Tuesday that it wasn’t his place to rule on the new state law. He said he’s only overseeing the battery case.
Feetterer says the defense can seek Macedo-Hernandez’s release in civil court.
