A federal judge has accused the Trump administration of terrorizing immigrants by recklessly violating laws related to deportation. U.S. District Judge Sunshine Sykes ruled that the administration’s actions were “terror” against non-citizens and also harmed their families and communities.
The judge ordered the Department of Homeland Security to provide detained immigrants with notice they may be eligible for bond and access to a phone to call an attorney within an hour. The ruling also threw out a previous decision by an immigration court that upheld the mandatory detention policy, which had been reversed by President Trump’s White House.
Under past administrations, immigrants with no criminal record could request a bond hearing before an immigration judge unless they were stopped at the border. However, Trump’s administration cut off this practice, leading to thousands of habeas corpus cases being filed in federal court seeking release.
Judges have granted many of these petitions but later found the administration was violating their orders to release people or provide relief. The federal government has failed to comply with court orders on multiple occasions, including one instance where a judge found a Trump administration lawyer in contempt of court.
The judge criticized the administration’s claim that its immigration crackdown was removing worst criminals, saying most arrested individuals did not fit this description. Sykes also accused the administration of harming American citizens, citing the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minnesota.
Source: https://apnews.com/article/immigration-trump-detention-bond-judge-50a5da122aa51eed77cace0830548df3