A federal judge has told the government it should release hundreds of migrants it has been holding in preparation for deportation, saying the Trump administration has gone too far in claiming the power to detain anyone deemed to be in the country illegally.
Judge Jeffrey Cummings, a Biden appointee to the court in Illinois, said Homeland Security is misreading the law that gives it the power to detain illegal immigrants.
He said only some migrants who have a final deportation order or a criminal record serious enough to trigger the law are subject to mandatory detention. Those who are in the country illegally but who have not yet received a final deportation order cannot be automatically subject to detention.
He said Homeland Security used to take that same approach until it reversed its policy earlier this year under the Trump administration. Judge Cummings called that an “abrupt 180-degree change” and said he and other courts have disagreed with DHS’s new reading.
“This court will stand by its ruling on this issue until it receives contrary direction from the Seventh Circuit or the Supreme Court,” the judge wrote.
He ordered the migrants released on a $1,500 bond.
Judge Cummings stayed his order until Nov. 21.
The Trump administration has appealed the ruling.
Judge Cummings said of roughly 3,000 people arrested from June 11 to Oct. 7 in the Chicago area, 615 fell outside the standards for detention but were detained anyway.
He said with the exception of any that are deemed to pose a “high public safety risk,” the others must be released on bond and monitored, which he said still qualifies as “custody.”
Some have already been deported or left on their own.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.