Latest news with #DavidG.Estudillo
New York Post
18-07-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Judge blocks Washington State law requiring Catholic priests to report abuse, even if disclosed in confession
WASHINGTON — A federal judge blocked Washington State Friday from enforcing a law that would require Catholic priests to report child abuse — even when disclosed in a confessional — or face nearly a year of jail time. Tacoma US District Chief Judge David G. Estudillo stayed the law that threatened clergy with a $5,000 fine and up to 364 days in prison for not disclosing child abuse and neglect heard during confessions. The legislation, SB 5375, was signed by Democratic Gov. Bob Ferguson in May and would have taken effect July 27. In 25-page order, Estudillo — appointed to the federal bench by former President Joe Biden — determined the law was likely unconstitutional and violated First Amendment protections allowing for the free exercise of religion. 'The State arguably could have chosen a less restrictive means of advancing its interest in protecting children from abuse and neglect by adding members of the clergy to the list of mandated reporters while also permitting a narrow exception for the confessional, as approximately 25 other states have done,' he wrote. 3 A federal judge blocked Washington State on Friday from enforcing a law that would require Catholic priests to report child abuse — even when disclosed in a confessional — or face nearly a year of jail time. Emanuele Capoferri – 'Ultimately, Washington's failure to demonstrate why it has an interest of the highest order in denying an exemption to clergy while making such exemptions available to other professionals who work with underserved children … is likely fatal to SB 5375.' The Catholic Church views confession as among the holiest of activities and instructs priests to uphold their sacred obligation by keeping such disclosures confidential — on pain of excommunication. 'This ruling confirms what has always been true: In America, government officials have no business prying into the confessional,' said Mark Rienzi, the president and CEO of the religious freedom legal nonprofit Becket, which represented the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Seattle. 3 The legislation, SB 5375, was signed by Washington State Democratic Gov. Bob Ferguson in May and would have taken effect July 27. AP 'By protecting the seal of confession, the court has also safeguarded the basic principle that people of all faiths should be free to practice their beliefs without government interference.' Archbishop Paul D. Etienne, Bishop Joseph J. Tyson and Bishop Thomas A. Daly sued Ferguson May 29 and were represented by Becket, the First Liberty Institute and lawyers for WilmerHale. The US Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division sought to intervene in that lawsuit on the side of the diocese June 23. 3 The Catholic Church views confession as among the holiest of activities in the life of a believer and instructs priests to uphold their sacred obligation by keeping everything confidential — or face excommunication from the religious body. UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images 'Laws that explicitly target religious practices such as the Sacrament of Confession in the Catholic Church have no place in our society,' Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said at the time. 'The Justice Department will not sit idly by when States mount attacks on the free exercise of religion.' 'We look forward to protecting Washington kids from sexual abuse in the face of this 'investigation' from the Trump administration,' Ferguson responded to local outlet KIRO 7 at the time.
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
ICE created visa chaos for WA international students. That should worry everyone
What if someone could flip a switch to mess with your life? That's what ICE appears to be doing to several international students and recent grads in Washington state, two of whom were in post-graduate training at UW Tacoma. One day a database said they had valid status as students in the United States, and the next day it didn't, because someone with Immigration and Customs Enforcement clicked on a button. Worryingly, it appears in at least one case that Immigration and Customs Enforcement can't really explain what it was doing when it flipped that switch. The recent grads from UW Tacoma who saw their records changed could be in a similar predicament, though the details of their cases haven't emerged. More cases for students in the region are going forward in Tacoma on Thursday. International scholars are guests in our region. They add to the accomplishments of our universities and put their education in our hands. They deserve competent and humane treatment from the government agency that manages their legal status in the country. This isn't that. Even if their treatment doesn't concern you, a government agency that doesn't follow its own rules when deciding any one person's fate sets a dangerous precedent for everyone. ICE maintains a database of international scholars in the United States with a valid student status. At a hearing in Tacoma on April 17, U.S. District Court Judge David G. Estudillo asked a lawyer representing ICE to explain the agency's decision to change the status of a Seattle-based UW doctoral student in this system. What was the basis for ICE's action? Was the student, from China, now in the country without legal status? Would he be detained if he didn't leave immediately? Could he continue studying or not? That a judge had to ask those questions to get the student answers was wild enough. According to his lawyer, Jay Gairson, the student learned through UW that the change could be related to the results of a criminal background check. He has a pending DUI charge from 2023. A pending charge isn't enough for ICE to end his legal status, Gairson argued. Under U.S. immigration law, there has to be a conviction, the crime must be violent, and it must have a possible prison sentence of over one year. Gairson said not one of those things has happened – nor could they happen – based on the DUI charge. It's a nonviolent offense that's subject to a sentence of 364 days or fewer. Even wilder were the answers ICE's lawyer, assistant U.S. Attorney Whitney Passmore, gave to the judge. Yes, she said, ICE changed the student's status within its system because of the DUI charge. In a kafkaesque twist, she said ICE was not taking a position on whether the change means he's lost his valid status as a student. Why? Because ICE's lawyers don't know the answer to that question yet. So as ICE's lawyers have described it, it sounds like the agency altered official records of a resident's legal status, without following its own rules, and without knowing the consequences of its own actions. That in turn sounds like something from dystopian fiction exploring themes of cruelty and incompetence. In a temporary order, Estudillo required ICE to restore the UW doctoral student's record. He also forbade the agency from putting the student into removal proceedings based on its earlier decision to terminate the record. The judge will revisit his decision in early May after getting more information from both legal teams. The details of the cases for the recent grads of UW Tacoma and many of the other students might be different. It might turn out that ICE discovered things about them that fall within the agency's rules for ending their legal status. Based on last week's hearing, it seems like it could take a court hearing to get that information from ICE. For now, the switch is flipped back for one student.
