Donald Trump’s cruel mandatory policy just got obliterated in court

Huge news just dropped for thousands of immigrants currently facing deportation, as a federal judge just dealt a massive blow to the Trump administration’s strict mandatory detention policy. U.S. District Judge Sunshine Sykes of the Central District of California ruled that the administration’s policy is unlawful, demanding that noncitizens across the country get a chance to seek release on bond.

This is a significant victory for due process. Judge Sykes also granted class-action status to everyone subject to the administration’s mandatory detention policy, a move that could have sweeping implications nationwide. While the administration is likely to appeal, immigration attorneys in Massachusetts and western Washington have already secured similar class-action standing for detainees in their regions.

The administration’s policy, which took effect in September, overturned decades of legal precedent. Under the new rules, undocumented immigrants who have lived in the country for years are now kept in detention until their deportation cases are resolved. This can take months or even years, according to The Washington Post. Administration officials say they are simply closing “loopholes” that allowed previous administrations to let these immigrants remain free.

Immigration isn’t as simple or awful as Trump is making it seem

But the migrants affected by this change are fighting back in a torrent of legal challenges, and they are on a massive winning streak in federal court. Since September, judges have overwhelmingly sided with immigrants, ordering the administration in case after case to hold immigration bond hearings or release the detainees. Federal judges in at least 51 judicial districts have rejected the government’s position, stating clearly that the no-bond policy violates the Constitution, so it’s no wonder that Trump keeps trying to get rid of them.

Attorneys are filing writs of habeas corpus petitions as fast as they can, and they are even sharing templates and offering free seminars in places like Chicago to help educate others on how to challenge the unlawful detentions. Matt Adams, the lead attorney for the plaintiffs in the California case, didn’t mince words. He said, “This is a classic example of the government putting its policy and agenda ahead of the law.”

You can see the real-world impact of this policy when you look at cases like Ruben Torres Maldonado, a 40-year-old painter in suburban Chicago. He was not one of the people who could avoid ICE. He entered the country illegally in 2003, and he was arrested by ICE on October 18, just days after his 16-year-old daughter, Ofelia, an American citizen, began cancer treatment.

Under past practice, experts say Torres Maldonado would have almost certainly qualified for release on bond because of his long residency and community ties. While detained, he recounted meeting fathers, workers, and small-business owners who were told that bond was not an option. He pointed out that even violent criminals are entitled to bail. He argued, “we are not criminals. This is a land of laws, and we have a right to fight for our cases.”

Due to the quick work of his attorneys, a U.S. district judge ordered a bond hearing, and Torres Maldonado was released on October 30 on a $2,000 bond. Another heartbreaking story involves Hector, a Chicago-area resident who was arrested near his work truck on October 18, even though he was already far along in the process of applying for a green card through his U.S. citizen wife, Rosa Morales. Hector missed his daughter’s 7th birthday while he was detained.

Morales said their young daughter became so frightened after seeing a Homeland Security commercial on television that she worried the family would be arrested next, saying, “They’re going to find us.” Thankfully, a federal judge granted Hector a bond hearing, and he was released on November 10.