Federal Courts/Jurisdiction
Judge Grants Temporary Reprieve From Deportation to Indonesians Fearing Religious Persecution
After being lured to participate in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) initiative that promised a reprieve from deportation, 51 Indonesian nationals suddenly were at risk for removal once again when the government agency decided to abruptly terminate the program. But on Monday, a federal district court judge in Boston… Read More
Court Requires Defense Department to Remove Hurdles to Citizenship for Army Reserve Soldiers
In a sweeping decision, a federal judge ruled the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) could not continue to prevent approximately 2,000 noncitizen Army Reserve soldiers from applying for citizenship. The case centers on the treatment of noncitizen soldiers who benefited from the Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest… Read More
President Trump’s Travel Ban Blocked by Courts yet Again
Only hours before President Trump’s third travel ban was set to go into effect Tuesday night, it was halted by the same federal court in Hawaii that stopped the second version of the travel ban in March. In his order, Judge Watson found that President Trump had gone… Read More
Travel Ban 3.0: What You Need To Know
Just as the Trump administration’s 90-day ban on travel from six Muslim-majority countries was set to expire, it announced the third version of its travel ban Sunday evening. This latest version expands the list of targeted countries to eight and imposes indefinite and potentially permanent bans on entry… Read More
States and NGOs Sue Trump Administration Over DACA Termination
With the Trump administration announcing it was ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative on Tuesday, a number of states, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and DACA recipients immediately went to federal court in attempt to stop its termination. In the two days since the administration called an end… Read More
Massachusetts’ Highest Court Declares Immigration Detainers Are Unenforceable
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court issued a unanimous decision on Monday holding that Massachusetts court officers may not arrest and detain immigrants based solely on a detainer. Although other courts have struck down detainers on the grounds that they violate the Constitution, the Supreme Judicial Court concluded that… Read More
Hawaii Judge Rules That Grandparents and Other Close Relatives Are Excluded from the Travel Ban
U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson ruled last week that “grandparents, grandchildren, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and cousins of persons in the United States,” as well as refugees connected to resettlement agencies should be exempt from the Trump administration’s travel ban. This ruling came as a result of a… Read More
Supreme Court Limits Power to Revoke Naturalized Person’s Citizenship
The Supreme Court recently rejected the government’s extreme argument that any false statement given during a naturalization exam—even a misstatement that had no impact on the naturalization decision—could later be a basis for stripping the person of their citizenship. In Maslenjak v. United States, the government’s interpretation of… Read More
Court Rules That Immigration Authorities May Not Deny Bond Hearings to Children
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals delivered a strong rebuke to the government’s years-long effort to strip detained immigrant children of the right to a bond hearing in immigration court. The 3-0 decision, authored by Judge Reinhardt on Wednesday, came in a case involving the 1997 Flores settlement… Read More
Court Finds Government Violating Obligations (Again) to Children in Family Detention
A U.S. District Court condemned the federal government for continuing to disregard critical protections for children in detention. Read More
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