Latest news with #JudgeBrianMurphy
Associated Press
02-06-2025
- General
- Associated Press
What cases are left on the Supreme Court's emergency docket? Here's a look
WASHINGTON (AP) — The sequence of events is familiar: A lower court judge blocks a part of President Donald Trump's agenda, an appellate panel refuses to put the order on hold while the case continues and the Justice Department turns to the Supreme Court. Trump administration lawyers have filed emergency appeals with the nation's highest court a little less than once a week on average since Trump began his second term. The court is not being asked to render a final decision but rather to set the rules of the road while the case makes it way through the courts. The justices have issued orders in 11 cases so far, and the Trump administration has won more than it has lost. Among the administration's victories was an order allowing it to enforce the Republican president's ban of on transgender military service members. Among its losses was a prohibition on using an 18th century wartime law called the Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelans alleged to be gang members to a notorious prison in El Salvador. The most recent emergency filing arrived May 27. A judge rebuked the administration over deportations to South Sudan The Trump administration's latest appeal asks the high court to halt an order by U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy in Boston. The White House violated his earlier order, Murphy found, with a deportation flight bound for the African nation carrying people from other countries who had been convicted of crimes in the U.S. Those immigrants must get a real chance to raise any fears that being sent there could put them in danger, Murphy wrote. Trump's top Supreme Court lawyer, Solicitor General D. John Sauer, asked for an immediate high court order that would allow the third-country deportations to resume. Murphy has stalled efforts to carry out deportations of migrants who can't be returned to their home countries, Sauer wrote. Finding countries willing to take them is 'a delicate diplomatic endeavor' and the court requirements are a major setback, he said. Lawyers for the deported men have until Wednesday to respond. A watchdog group is trying to bring transparency to DOGE The Department of Government Efficiency, overseen by billionaire Trump adviser Elon Musk until his departure on Friday, is resisting a lawsuit calling for it to publicly disclose information about its operations. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington argues in a lawsuit that DOGE, which has been central to Trump's push to remake the government, is a federal agency and must be subject to the Freedom of Information Act. CREW claims that DOGE 'wields shockingly broad power' with no transparency about its actions. The administration says DOGE is just a presidential advisory body that is exempt from FOIA disclosures. U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper had found that its role is likely more than just advisory, especially in helping to shutter the U.S. Agency for International Development and cut billions of dollars in government contracts. The administration appealed Cooper's orders requiring documents be turned over and acting Administrator Amy Gleason to answer questions under oath. Last week, Chief Justice John Roberts agreed to temporarily pause the orders pending additional word from the Supreme Court. A judge blocked DOGE's access to Social Security systems over privacy concerns Social Security has personal data on nearly everyone in the country, including school records, bank details, salary information and medical and mental health records for disability recipients, according to court documents. The Trump administration says DOGE needs access to Social Security's systems as part of its mission to target waste in the federal government. But U.S. District Judge Ellen Hollander in Maryland restricted the team's access to Social Security under federal privacy laws, saying DOGE's efforts at the agency amounted to a 'fishing expedition' based on 'little more than suspicion' of fraud. The judge is disrupting DOGE's work and interfering with decisions that belong to the executive branch, not courts, Sauer wrote in asking the high court to block Hollander's order in the suit filed by labor unions and retirees. The justices could act anytime. Trump wants to change citizenship rules in place for more than 125 years Several judges quickly blocked an executive order Trump signed his first day in office that would deny citizenship to children who are born to people who are in the country illegally or temporarily. The administration appealed three court orders that prohibit the changes from taking effect anywhere in the country. Earlier in May, the justices took the rare step of hearing arguments in an emergency appeal. It's unclear how the case will come out, but the court seemed intent on keeping the changes on hold while looking for a way to scale back nationwide court orders. One possibility advanced by some justices was to find a different legal mechanism, perhaps a class action, to accomplish essentially the same thing as the nationwide injunctions blocking Trump's citizenship order. Nationwide injunctions have emerged as an important check on Trump's efforts to remake the government and a source of mounting frustration to the Republican president and his allies. Judges have issued 40 nationwide injunctions since Trump began his second term in January, Sauer told the court during the arguments. The court could act anytime, but almost certainly no later than early summer. ___ Follow the AP's coverage of the U.S. Supreme Court at
Wall Street Journal
27-05-2025
- General
- Wall Street Journal
Trump Administration Asks Supreme Court to Allow Deportations to South Sudan
The Trump administration on Tuesday asked the Supreme Court to let it deport migrants to South Sudan and other countries without needing to jump through the additional hurdles imposed by a lower-court judge. In an emergency appeal, the administration asked the high court to stay a directive by U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy in Boston that it provide meaningful notice before removing individuals to countries not their own. Murphy said last week that those requirements apply to a group of at least seven migrants the administration is trying to remove to South Sudan. The appeal is the latest escalation in the administration's battle with the courts over its efforts to conduct rapid-fire deportations to harsh destinations with minimal procedural protections.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Judge orders Trump administration to pursue return of improperly deported Guatemalan man
A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to facilitate the return of a third improperly deported man late Friday, saying his removal likely 'lacked any semblance of due process.' The administration removed the Guatemalan man, identified as O.C.G. in court filings, to Mexico despite his fear of persecution after being held for ransom and raped there. Initially, the Justice Department told the court that the man had affirmatively stated to authorities he had no fear of being sent to Mexico, only to retract the claim as an 'error' last week. 'No one has ever suggested that O.C.G. poses any sort of security threat,' U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy wrote in his 14-page ruling. 'In general, this case presents no special facts or legal circumstances, only the banal horror of a man being wrongfully loaded onto a bus and sent back to a country where he was allegedly just raped and kidnapped,' he continued. Murphy, an appointee of former President Biden who serves in Boston, ordered the administration take 'all immediate steps' to 'facilitate' the man's return to the U.S. and provide an update within five days. He called the case 'troubling,' also chastising the administration for accidentally revealing the man's full name in a prior court filing despite his ruling to use pseudonyms. The Hill has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for comment. O.C.G. entered the U.S. twice last year. After his first attempt, he was deported back to Guatemala. As he crossed through Mexico on his second try, court documents show he was raped and held hostage until a family member paid ransom, the documents read. After arriving in the U.S. once again, an immigration judge issued a ruling protecting O.C.G., who is gay, from being deported to Guatemala, finding he would likely suffer from persecution or torture. Instead, the administration days later put the man on a bus to Mexico, where he was then given the option of being detained in the country as he sought asylum or return to Guatemala. O.C.G chose Guatemala, the filing said. 'Since I arrived here, I have been living in hiding, in constant panic and constant fear. I've been here living this way for over two months,' O.C.G. wrote in a sworn declaration filed with the court on Thursday. The judge also found that O.C.G.'s removal to Mexico had likely violated his due process rights. The man is represented by the National Immigration Litigation Alliance, the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project and Human Rights First. The ruling is the third time a federal judge has ordered the administration to seek the return of a migrant improperly deported amid President Trump's sweeping immigration crackdown. For weeks, the administration has battled over a judge's order to facilitate the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was mistakenly removed to El Salvador despite an immigration judge's ruling protecting him from being deported there. And on Monday, a federal appeals court in a 2-1 vote refused to lift another judge's order to facilitate the return of a 20-year-old, identified as 'Cristian' in court documents, in violation of a legal settlement. He was deported to a Salvadoran megaprison in mid-March under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, a rarely used, wartime law that allows for swift deportations under certain circumstances. The administration has accused both men of being Venezuelan gang members. 'The Court notes that 'facilitate' in this context should carry less baggage than in several other notable cases,' Murphy wrote in Friday's ruling. 'O.C.G. is not held by any foreign government. Defendants have declined to make any argument that facilitating his return would be costly, burdensome, or otherwise impede the government's objectives,' he wrote. The judge added, 'The Court anticipates that Defendants will take at least the same level of action as is routine to return lawfully removed aliens.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump administration must seek return of third man who was improperly deported, judge rules
A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to arrange the return of a Guatemalan man it abruptly deported to Mexico in February, violating requirements that deportees be given a chance to raise fears of torture or persecution. The Guatemala native claims he had been raped and targeted for being gay during a previous stint in Mexico but was not given a chance to assert those fears when the Trump administration loaded him onto a bus in February and delivered him across the border. Mexican authorities then deported him to Guatemala, where he has also faced threats of persecution and violence. U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy ruled Friday that the U.S. government must attempt to bring the man, identified in court papers only as O.C.G., back to the United States. 'In general, this case presents no special facts or legal circumstances, only the banal horror of a man being wrongfully loaded onto a bus and sent back to a country where he was allegedly just raped and kidnapped,' Murphy wrote in a 14-page order issued Friday night. 'The Court finds that the public benefits from living in a country where rules are followed and where promises are kept,' the judge continued, noting that one of those promises is not to send people to countries where there is reason to believe they will be tortured. 'The return of O.C.G. poses a vanishingly small cost to make sure we can still claim to live up to that ideal,' Murphy concluded. With the new order, O.C.G. becomes the third foreigner the Trump administration has been ordered to seek to return to the U.S. after judges found the deportees were expelled from the country illegally or in violation of a court order. Administration officials have already been ordered to facilitate the return of two men deported in March to a high-security prison in El Salvador aboard a series of controversial flights. One of those cases reached the Supreme Court, with the justices largely upholding a lower court's order requiring the Trump administration to work to bring Salvadoran native Kilmar Abrego Garcia back to the U.S. The other case involves a Venezuelan man, Daniel Lozano-Camargo, who was sent to El Salvador under President Donald Trump's order invoking a wartime power in an 18th century law to expel alleged gang members from the U.S. The situation involving the Guatemalan man may be simpler to resolve than the other two deportations the Trump administration was recently ordered to reverse. Those men are in prisons in El Salvador. O.C.G. is not incarcerated but is currently in hiding in Guatemala in a house owned by his sister, his attorneys say. However, O.C.G.'s safety in Guatemala is also in question. A federal judge barred immigration officials from deporting him to his home country over fears of persecution and violence. He was sent back there, however, by Mexico shortly after his deportation from the United States. In his statement filed with the court, O.C.G. expressed fears about traveling outside his home, but he did not say it is impossible for him to travel. And his lawyers suggested in court this week that it would be possible to charter a flight for him if the court ordered the Trump administration to facilitate his return. The Biden-appointed judge noted that O.C.G.'s case also raises questions about the candor of U.S. government officials. The Trump administration initially told Murphy that O.C.G. had been asked if he had any fear of being sent to Mexico and that he didn't express any concerns. However, last week — after Murphy asked that those who spoke with O.C.G. be made available for a deposition — Justice Department attorneys said they could not locate any immigration official who recalled having such a conversation with the Guatemalan man before he was deported. 'It must be said that, while mistakes obviously happen, the events leading up to this decision are troubling. The Court was given false information, upon which it relied, twice, to the detriment of a party at risk of serious and irreparable harm,' the judge wrote. It's Murphy's latest rebuke to the Trump administration in a case that has increasingly drawn national attention. Murphy has admonished the Trump administration for seeking to quickly deport people to alternate countries — when their home countries won't accept them or are considered too dangerous — without offering meaningful notice or a chance to raise fear of torture and death. In recent weeks, Murphy has stepped in to restrict the administration's ability to send waves of migrants to Libya and South Sudan, which has prompted an increasingly furious and high-level response from the Trump administration. That response escalated again Friday, when Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused Murphy of directly interfering with the United States' effort to forge stronger relationships with the governments of Libya and South Sudan, and jeopardizing its relationship with Djibouti, home to the only U.S. military base in Africa. In a declaration filed in the court case, Rubio suggested that the judge's statements — that a rapid deportation of foreign nationals to Libya would violate an order he issued — contributed to 'the most violent street fighting in Tripoli since 2022.' The secretary also asserted that Murphy's orders related to a deportation flight the Trump administration attempted to send to South Sudan were 'almost certain' to lead to 'delayed or significantly reduced humanitarian efforts.'
CNN
22-05-2025
- Politics
- CNN
Deported migrant detainees are holding at a US Naval base in Djibouti amid court fight, officials say
Eight migrant detainees who were on a US flight destined for South Sudan are currently at a US military base in Djibouti, awaiting next steps as details over their case are hammered out in court, two US officials told CNN. It's unclear when or how the detainees — who have criminal records and come almost entirely from countries other than South Sudan — will move on from the US Navy base in Djibouti, Camp Lemonnier, one official said. The US officials added that that the situation has angered Djiboutian government officials, and that the US military in Djibouti has messaged back to Washington 'significant concerns' over keeping the detainees there and the possible impact on military relations. The deportation flight was described on Wednesday at a Department of Homeland Security press conference as a 'diplomatic and military security operation,' which the US official said floored some military officials who did not see it as a military operation. 'I still don't fully understand how this happened,' the US official said. White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said Thursday that the detainees will have to be in Djibouti 'for over two weeks.' 'Every single one of these individuals I will add had final orders of removal from our country, and now (federal Judge Brian Murphy) is forcing federal officials to remain in Djibouti for over two weeks, threatening our US-diplomatic relationships with countries around the world, and putting these agents' lives in danger by having to be with these illegal, murderous criminals and rapists,' Leavitt said. The flight, which took off with eight immigrant detainees Tuesday morning, set off a chain of events, culminating in a scramble at DHS to determine how officials could comply with an anticipated order from a federal judge in Massachusetts. Murphy held a hearing Tuesday afternoon on the heels of an emergency motion filed by attorneys who said their clients — of varying nationalities and, according to DHS, all with criminal records — were being flown to war-torn South Sudan. The plane ultimately landed in Djibouti, according to a flight tracker, where it remained as legal proceedings were ongoing. In an hours-long court hearing Wednesday, a Homeland Security official called in and out, at the judge's direction, to gather more information and share what was doable to provide additional due process to those who the department tried to transfer to South Sudan. During the hearing, Murphy asked the official whether DHS could conduct what's known as a 'reasonable fear interview' — the first step toward raising a fear-based claim against being deported to a particular country — where the migrants currently were. 'I would have to call over and find out, your honor. Currently, they're sitting on a plane,' the official said. As the proceeding continued Wednesday, the official periodically chimed in to provide updates while officials raced to figure out what they could or couldn't do. Hours later, the answer: It was possible to do the interview where the migrants were, the official told the judge. One of the US officials confirmed the Department of Homeland Security has asked to be able to do the reasonable fear interviews for the detainees at the base, though they said it was unclear if it would actually happen. As of Thursday morning, attorneys for the clients had not yet received instructions on how to reach the detainees and how or when the interviews would be conducted. One of the US officials said it remains unclear what comes next, but that military officials are 'waiting for others to figure those things out' as the court proceedings continue. 'The full impact of this is definitely stressful,' the official said.
