Trump admin sues U.S. judges in Maryland for blocking swift deportations
The Trump administration has filed a lawsuit against federal judges in Maryland over an order that blocks the immediate removal of any detained immigrant who requests a court hearing.
The unusual suit filed Tuesday in Baltimore against the chief judge of the U.S. District Court and the court's other judges underscores the administration's focus on immigration enforcement and ratchets up its fight with the judiciary.
At issue is an order signed by Chief Judge George L. Russell III and filed in May blocking the administration from immediately removing from the U.S. any immigrants who file paperwork with the Maryland district court seeking a review of their detention. The order blocks the removal until 4 p.m. on the second business day after the habeas corpus petition is filed.
In its suit, the Trump administration says such an automatic pause on removals violates a Supreme Court ruling and impedes the president's authority to enforce immigration laws.
Story continues below advertisement
'Defendants' automatic injunction issues whether or not the alien needs or seeks emergency relief, whether or not the court has jurisdiction over the alien's claims, and no matter how frivolous the alien's claims may be,' the suit says. 'And it does so in the immigration context, thus intruding on core Executive Branch powers.'
The suit names the U.S. and U.S. Department of Homeland Security as plaintiffs.
5:09
Trump's mass deportations will continue despite 'left-wing riots,' White House says
The Maryland district court had no comment, Chief Deputy Clerk David Ciambruschini said in an email.
Get breaking National news
For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up
By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy
The Trump administration has repeatedly clashed with federal judges over its deportation efforts.
One of the Maryland judges named as a defendant in Tuesday's lawsuit, Paula Xinis, has called the administration's deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia to El Salvador illegal. Attorneys for Abrego Garcia have asked Xinis to impose fines against the administration for contempt, arguing that it ignored court orders for weeks to return him to the U.S.
Story continues below advertisement
And on the same day the Maryland court issued its order pausing removals, a federal judge in Boston said the White House had violated a court order on deportations to third countries with a flight linked to South Sudan.
A fired justice department lawyer said in a whistleblower complaint made public Tuesday that a top official at the agency had suggested the Trump administration might have to ignore court orders as it prepared to deport Venezuelan migrants it accused of being gang members.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said court injunctions 'designed to halt' the president's agenda have undermined his authority since the first hours of his administration.
'The American people elected President Trump to carry out his policy agenda: this pattern of judicial overreach undermines the democratic process and cannot be allowed to stand,' she said in a statement announcing the lawsuit against Maryland's district court.
4:01
Kilmar Abrego Garcia returns to U.S. to face human smuggling charges, Pam Bondi confirms
The order signed by Russell says it aims to maintain existing conditions and the potential jurisdiction of the court, ensure immigrant petitioners are able to participate in court proceedings and access attorneys and give the government 'fulsome opportunity to brief and present arguments in its defense.'
Story continues below advertisement
In an amended order, Russell said the court had received an influx of habeas petitions after hours that 'resulted in hurried and frustrating hearings in that obtaining clear and concrete information about the location and status of the petitioners is elusive.'
The Trump administration has asked the Maryland judges to recuse themselves from the case. It wants a clerk to have a federal judge from another state hear it.
James Sample, a constitutional law professor at Hofstra University, described the lawsuit as further part of the erosion of legal norms by the administration.
On one hand, he said, the Justice Department has a point that injunctions should be considered extraordinary relief; it's unusual for them to be granted automatically in an entire class of cases.
But, he added, it's the administration's own actions in repeatedly moving detainees to prevent them from obtaining writs of habeas corpus that prompted the court to issue the order.
'The judges here didn't ask to be put in this unenviable position,' Sample said. 'Faced with imperfect options, they have made an entirely reasonable, cautious choice to modestly check an executive branch that is determined to circumvent any semblance of impartial process.'
Associated Press writer Gene Johnson in Seattle contributed to this report.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Toronto Star
an hour ago
- Toronto Star
Trump grapples for upper hand in debate over damage caused by US strikes on Iran
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday rejected an early intelligence assessment that U.S. strikes inflicted only a marginal setback on Iran's nuclear program, insisting that his country's spies did not have the full picture and defending his own swift conclusion that American bombs and missiles delivered a crushing blow. 'This was a devastating attack, and it knocked them for a loop,' Trump said as his administration scrambled to support his claims, made only hours after the attack, that Iranian nuclear facilities were 'completely and fully obliterated.'
Global News
an hour ago
- Global News
Penticton, B.C. encampment residents officially evicted from site
The province is stepping in to shut down an encampment at Highway 97 and Fairview Road in Penticton, B.C. 'We've put a notice out to residents that they have 'til the end of the day to vacate that location,' BC Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon said Wednesday. Outreach workers have been on-site over the past several days, helping connect people with available support services. Penticton Mayor Julius Bloomfield said the situation appears to be unfolding peacefully. 'I think it's going quite well — fairly quiet,' Bloomfield said. 'I did drop down there at the site and it seemed pretty quiet from a distance.' Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Eviction notices were handed out about a week ago, but the ministry says those leaving the encampment are not being left without options. Kahlon said 12 shelter spaces have been opened at a local facility, and the province has approved 40 rent supplements to help individuals move into market housing. Story continues below advertisement 'We have a mix of people — some are just short of money and need a little support to get into housing. We are providing that,' he said. Longer-term solutions, however, are still in the works. Kahlon noted that discussions are ongoing with local First Nations, as well as with the mayor and city council. Although the land where the encampment sits is outside of Penticton's jurisdiction, the city remains actively engaged. 'We are monitoring very closely, because it's right next door to our city,' Bloomfield said. Both the province and the city have described the site as unsafe — not only for the general public but for the people living there. Efforts are being made to prevent the camp from re-establishing in the future. 'We have closed that site off. People will not be able to come back to that area because of the fencing,' Kahlon said. 'There will be remediation work happening — it's a sensitive ecological site — and there will be construction on-site for months into the future.' While the area is expected to be cleared soon, officials say there will be some flexibility for individuals who still have nowhere to go.
Winnipeg Free Press
3 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Senate struggle over Medicaid cuts threatens progress on Trump's big bill
WASHINGTON (AP) — One key unsettled issue stalling progress on President Donald Trump's big bill in Congress is particularly daunting: How to cut billions from health care without harming Americans or the hospitals and others who provide care? Republicans are struggling to devise a solution to the health care problem their package has created. Already, estimates say 10.9 million more people would be without health coverage under the House-passed version of the bill. GOP senators have proposed steeper reductions, which some say go too far. 'The Senate cuts in Medicaid are far deeper than the House cuts, and I think that's problematic,' said GOP Sen. Susan Collins of Maine. Senators have been meeting behind closed doors and with Trump administration officials as they rush to finish up the big bill ahead of the president's Fourth of July deadline. Much of the package, with its tax breaks and bolstered border security spending, is essentially drafted. But the size and scope of healthcare cuts are among the toughest remaining issues. It's reminiscent of the summer during Trump's first term, in 2017, when Republicans struggled to keep their campaign promise to 'repeal and replace' the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, only to see the GOP splinter over the prospect of Americans losing health coverage. That legislation collapsed when then-Sen. John McCain famously cast a thumbs-down vote. Senate Majority Leader John Thune is determined to avoid that outcome, sticking to the schedule and pressing ahead with voting expected by the end of the week. 'This is a good bill and it's going to be great for our country,' Thune said, championing its potential to unleash economic growth and put money in people's pockets. The changes to the federal health care programs, particularly Medicaid, were always expected to become a centerpiece of the GOP package, a way to offset the costs of providing tax breaks for millions of Americans. Without action from Congress, taxes would go up next year when current tax law expires. The House-passed bill achieved some $1.5 trillion in savings overall, a large part of it coming from changes to health care. The Medicaid program has dramatically expanded in the 15 years since Obamacare became law and now serves some 80 million Americans. Republicans say that's far too high, and they want to shrink the program back to a smaller size covering mainly poorer women and children. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Republicans are 'trying to take away healthcare from tens of millions of Americans.' Democrats are uniformly opposed to what they call the 'big, ugly bill.' Much of the health care cost savings would come from new 80-hour-a-month work requirements on those who receive Medicaid benefits, even as most recipients already work. But another provision, the so-called provider tax that almost all the states impose to some degree on hospitals and others that serve Medicaid patients, is drawing particular concern for potential cuts to rural hospitals. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said several senators spoke up Wednesday during a private meeting indicating they were not yet ready to start voting. 'That'll depend if we land the plane on rural hospitals,' he said. States impose the taxes as a way to help fund Medicaid, largely by boosting the reimbursements they receive from the federal government. Critics decry the system as type of 'laundering' but almost every state except Alaska uses it to help provide the health care coverage. The House-passed bill would freeze the provider taxes at current levels, while the Senate proposal goes deeper by reducing the tax that some states are able to impose. 'I know the states are addicted to it,' said Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan. But he added, 'Obviously the provider tax needs to go away.' But a number of GOP senators, and the hospitals and other medical providers in their states, are raising steep concerns the provider tax changes would decimate rural hospitals. In a plea to lawmakers, the American Hospital Association said the cuts won't just affect those who get health coverage through Medicaid, but would further strain emergency rooms 'as they become the family doctor to millions of newly uninsured people.' 'And worse, some hospitals, especially those in rural communities, may be forced to close altogether,' said Rick Pollack, president and CEO of the hospital group. The Catholic Health Association of the United States noted in its own letter that Medicaid provides health insurance coverage for one in five people and nearly half of all children. 'The proposed changes to Medicaid would have devastating consequences, particularly for those in small towns and rural communities, where Medicaid is often the primary source of health care coverage,' said Sister Mary Haddad, the group's president and CEO. Trying to engineer a fix to the problem, senators are considering creating a rural hospital fund to help offset the lost Medicaid money. GOP senators circulated a proposal to pour $15 billion to establish a new rural hospital fund. But several senators said that's too high, while others said it's insufficient. Collins has proposed the fund be set at $100 billion. 'It won't be that big, but there will be a fund,' Thune said. Hawley, who has been among those most outspoken about the health care cuts, said he's interested in the rural hospital fund but needs to hear more about how it would work. 'Getting the fund is good. That's important, a step forward,' Hawley said. But he asked: 'How does the fund actually distribute the money? Who will get it to hospitals? … Or is this just going to be something that exists on paper?' He has also raised concerns about a new $35 per service co-pay that could be charged to those with Medicaid that is in both the House and Senate versions of the bill. __ Associated Press writers Kevin Freking, Mary Clare Jalonick and Joey Cappelletti contributed to this story.
