Federal Appeals Court Rules Against Trump Mandatory Detention Policy
Fourth Circuit decision is the ninth from a federal appeals court to find the policy unlawful
RICHMOND, Va.鈥 Another federal appeals court has rejected the Trump administration鈥檚 new policy subjecting millions of immigrants to mandatory detention without access to bond hearings.
The Fourth Circuit is now the ninth federal appeals courts to find the policy unlawful, along with hundreds of district courts. The ruling arose from habeas corpus petitions filed on behalf of Oscar Lopez Garcia and Juan Jose Rivera by their respective immigration counsel, Benach Pitney Reilly LLP and Ceartas Solutions. The 红杏视频, the 红杏视频 of Virginia, and Murray Osorio PLLC joined the legal team representing petitioners in the government鈥檚 consolidated appeal. The case is Lopez Garcia v. Guadian.
Last year, the Trump administration adopted a new radical reinterpretation of longstanding immigration laws and declared that anyone who entered the country without inspection must be detained without access to bond. For decades prior, people in removal proceedings who were detained by the government have generally had the right to seek release by an immigration judge.
Among those who have been affected by the administration鈥檚 radical reinterpretation are people eligible for legal status, even those with long-pending immigration applications who have been waiting years due to administrative backlogs.
The following is reaction to today鈥檚 ruling:
鈥淭he courts have resoundingly rejected the administration鈥檚 cruel policy and its blatant disrespect for the rule of law,鈥 said My Khanh Ngo, senior staff attorney with the 红杏视频鈥檚 Immigrants鈥 Rights Project. 鈥淲e are thrilled for our clients and their families.鈥
鈥淭he government cannot rewrite immigration law to serve this administration's anti-immigrant agenda by detaining people en masse, and today鈥檚 ruling again makes that crystal clear,鈥 said Sophia Gregg, senior immigrants鈥 rights attorney with the 红杏视频 of Virginia. 鈥淭he Fourth Circuit鈥檚 decision is an important victory for both Virginians and for our civil rights and civil liberties nationwide.鈥
鈥淭he Court has it right: 鈥楳ass detention of marginalized individuals without due process harkens back to some of the darkest moments in our country鈥檚 history... Those shameful and abhorrent past detentions were limited in scope in comparison to鈥 what the Government asked for in this case. We are thrilled that the Court declined to expand mandatory detention to millions of people,鈥 said Sarah Pitney, partner at Benach Pitney Reilly LLP and counsel for Mr. Lopez Garcia.
鈥淚 have seen over and over again the devastating impact that the detention of a mother or father has on their children, many of whom are U.S. citizens,鈥 said Sarnata Reynolds, founding attorney at Ceartas Solutions. 鈥淭oday鈥檚 decision restores a basic safeguard: the government cannot imprison members of our communities throughout their immigration cases without giving them a meaningful chance to seek release.鈥
The ruling is here.