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Three Legal Wins for Immigration

It’s hard to be an immigration attorney without noticing all the bad news. It’s been a tough series of years for immigrants, with a current administration who seems intent on making it even tougher.

Nevertheless, there is reason to take heart. 

Three separate pieces of Trump Administration immigration policy were blocked by significant legal challenges this week.

No deportation without a judge.

The Trump Administration wanted to give ICE the authority to simply deport anyone who is in the country illegally and who has been here for less than two years. A federal judge blocked this effort.

Thus, you are still entitled to a full deportation hearing in front of a judge if you are eligible for removal. Just remember a hearing before a judge is generally minimally effective if you don’t have a qualified immigration attorney on your side.

An end to database-based deportation targeting.

U.S. District Court Judge Andre Birrote Jr. issued a permanent injunction against this practice. ICE may no longer rely on databases alone to issue detainers, requests made to police agencies meant to keep people who have been arrested in custody for two days beyond the time they normally could have been held.

These detainers made it easier for ICE to launch and conduct the deportation process. The Hon. Birrote found massive flaws in the databases and in the process. Officers will now have to provide justifications other than the information in the database.

There are exceptions. In states where state law authorizes civil immigration arrests on detainers ICE will be able to proceed as before. In Pennsylvania, ICE requests for detainer are treated more like requests, not demands, and many counties have stopped using them altogether. In some cases, law enforcement may be held liable for honoring ICE requests; most choose not to take the risk.

Children’s protections will remain in place.

Under the 1997 Flores agreement, the government is obligated to release detained children as quickly as possible. They are barred from holding children more than 20 days, regardless of who they traveled with. 

The agreement also requires the government to provide immigrant children with a minimum standard of care. This includes edible food, clean water, soap, and toothpaste.

The Trump Administration wished to remove these protections, a move a federal judge blocked.

Give your case its best chance of success.

Don’t let a little good news make you complacent.

You need expert immigration help to stay in this country, and sometimes even to avoid criminal prosecution.

Hykel Law can help. Contact us today for a thorough case review.  

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