Federal judges in Minnesota and across the U.S. are rejecting the Trump administration’s claims that immigrants who came to the U.S. illegally are ineligible for bond hearings and belong in mandatory detention.
It’s part of a policy change by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to boost the number of immigrants in detention since President Donald Trump returned to office promising mass deportations. More than 1,000 immigrants in Minnesota have been detained since January, and a growing number are being held without an opportunity to post bond.
The policy is a departure from 30 years of court precedent, which allowed people in immigration proceedings to post bond if they have no criminal record, are not considered dangerous and are not a flight risk. A person’s ability to challenge detention is part of the constitutionally protected right to due process.
Nationwide, federal judges have decided 177 cases in favor of immigrants who were denied a bond hearing or release on bail, according to David Wilson, a Minneapolis attorney whose office has about 20 habeas corpus cases. As of Oct. 31, judges ruled in favor of the government just nine times.
Wilson is working with attorneys across the country to push back on the government’s efforts to deny immigrants key rights, available to everyone in the U.S.
“Everyone deserves the right to be heard,” Wilson said. “When we deny people that, we are no better than where they came from.”
He says federal judges appointed by both Democrats and Republicans agree that most immigrants in the country illegally are still eligible for a bond hearing.
U.S. Department of Justice officials declined to comment.
Because judges are the only reason law and justice still exist in the U.S., and they are being targeted by dumbasses who love fascism?
No shit, I await the president or any other administrator to block and deny this indefinitely. A small victory, though worthwile, must be seen as the waymark on this trail toppling singular rule.