Click here: to donate by Credit Card
Or here: to donate by PayPal
Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794
Thank you very much and God bless you.
Posted on 12/03/2025 6:45:49 AM PST by Twotone
WASHINGTON (CN) — A federal judge Tuesday night ordered the Trump administration to cease its campaign of arresting immigrants in Washington, D.C. without a warrant or probable cause of a flight risk, warning that the White House’s mistreatment of immigrants could put Americans overseas at risk.
U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell ruled that, while federal agents may have the authority to make warrantless immigration arrests, the way that authority has been used on the immigrant community in Washington was likely unlawful.
“Defendants are preliminarily enjoined from enforcing their policy of conducting warrantless civil immigration arrests without probable cause to believe that the arrestee is likely to escape before an administrative warrant can be obtained,” Howell wrote in the 88-page opinion.
She further certified a class, which she referred to as the “Unassisted Escape Risk Class,” that includes all individuals who, since President Donald Trump’s Aug. 11 “crime emergency,” have been or will be arrested without a warrant and without a pre-arrest, individualized assessment of probable cause.
On Aug. 11, Trump invoked Section 740 of the Home Rule Act — a 1973 federal statute granting local control of the District of Columbia to a city government — to effectively federalize the Metropolitan Police Department by declaring a “crime emergency.”
Under the emergency, Trump activated the D.C. National Guard throughout the city, leading several Republican governors to deploy their own National Guard troops. Federal agents began patrolling the streets with MPD officers, as the troops are not generally authorized to make arrests despite being the face of the crackdown.
According to recently reported numbers, more than 3,500 people have been arrested by federal agents following Trump’s declaration, with more than 40%, or 1,400, being immigration related.
Howell, a Barack Obama appointee, slammed Trump’s characterization of all immigrants who entered the U.S. without permission as “illegal alien criminals,” as a clear misunderstanding of immigration law.
“First, ‘as a general rule, it is not a crime for a removable alien to remain present in the United States,’” Howell wrote, citing the Supreme Court’s decision in Arizona v. United States. “As a legal matter, an immigration status violation is a civil violation. Consequently, viewing all immigrants potentially subject to removal as criminals is, as a legal matter, plain wrong.”
She added that the Supreme Court made clear in Arizona — where the high court ruled 5-3 to strike down Arizona’s infamous “Show Me Your Papers” policy authorizing warrantless immigration arrests — that the “perceived mistreatment of aliens in the U.S. may lead to harmful reciprocal treatment of American citizens abroad.”
A coalition of immigrant rights groups, led by the Amica Center for Immigrant Rights, sued the Trump administration over its warrantless arrests policy on Sept. 25, arguing the practice has been overwhelmingly used against the Latino community in the nation’s capital and has swept up multiple U.S. citizens.
José Molina, a 47-year-old man from El Salvador who has lived in Washington for 25 years and has maintained valid Temporary Protected Status since 2001, was wrongfully arrested by ICE. The agents detained him overnight at a processing center in Chantilly, Virginia, before an ICE supervisor realized Molina had valid TPS status, which statutorily prohibits ICE from detaining him, and released him.
N.S., an anonymous 51-year-old man from Venezuela, has lived in Washington since 2024 with a pending asylum application for fear of persecution if he returned to Venezuela.
On Aug. 12, an agent with a DEA vest and ICE hat stopped N.S. in a Home Depot parking lot, where he had just finished shopping, and arrested him without a warrant or asking any questions. N.S. was held in various detention centers around the country for four weeks before agents released him on his own recognizance.
Aditi Shah, staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union of D.C. and counsel for the plaintiffs, celebrated Howell’s decision in an email to Courthouse News.
“The government’s policy and practice of arresting people without a warrant and without probable cause in Washington, D.C., disregards important limits Congress has established for civil immigration arrests and has caused immense harm to immigrant communities in D.C.,” Shah said. “The court’s decision is a vital reminder that federal officials and agents are required to follow the law.”
Tuesday’s decision comes as the Trump administration moved to pause all immigration applications from 19 countries it has deemed “high risk,” including Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.
Trump pushed for the blanket ban in the wake of the Nov. 26 fatal attack on two National Guard members in downtown Washington, for which a 29-year-old man from Afghanistan faces first-degree murder, assault and firearm charges.
The suspect, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, pleaded not guilty to the charges from his hospital bed while virtually attending his initial court appearance Tuesday.
The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to requests for comment.
|
|
Click here: to donate by Credit Card Or here: to donate by PayPal Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794 Thank you very much and God bless you. |
The Judge Jihad continues...
Beryl Howl rewrites the immigration laws!
It’s not a crime to be in the country illegally!
Cuz uh..err…um….err…something!
It's legal, but the way you're doing it is illegal. 'You have the power to do it, but don't - because we don't like you...'
Aliens who have failed to report or have overstayed their visas are already a flight risk.
The communists posing as judges can all go to hell. Carry on with the plan!
The leftist communist democrats hate to lose their voters...
And the statement about Americans abroad "might" be subject to threats is just pure speculative nonsense.
I like injunction insurrection but your judge jihad is catchy.
Gee thanx, Obama/Biden, for this judicial infestation of DEI incompetents, grudge holders and “savior” old hippie wannabes, not a one of which understands the rule of law or the Constitution.
As long as these “little gods” remain on the bench, our justice system is in real danger.
So who are the other 60%…2100? Are they U.S. citizens?
Being taken into custody by federal agents….
Are they being granted due process?
If 40% are “immigration related,” then 60% aren’t, this isn’t only about immigration.
Way too many questions…
When is the Supreme Court going to put these Dipstick Jugheads in Black Robes in their place. They all are overstepping their authority. It’s time to start throwing their far left ***** out. The are the greatest threat to a Constitutional America.
This idiot thinks there's no probably cause?
Does she think they're going to just line up, hold out their hands and say 'Arrest me'???
But there is some logic involved: When federal judges toss around orders saying that the Administration can't arrest and deport them, why should they be afraid and try to flee?
It's like Hillary, Comey and Tish James. They're not afraid because they know they're being protected.
These nuts are causing an increased workload for the Supreme Court.
U.S. District Court Judge Beryl Howell ( Impeachment, January 6th, ordered no warrantless arrests illegals etc),
U.S. District Court Judge James E. Boasberg (holding the Trump Administration in contempt for not returning the plane full of Venezuelan gang members; injunction against deportation of Venezuelan gang members ; released an individual who threatened to disembowel the president )
U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart ( approved FBI raid on Trump’s Mar-a-lago residence
U.S. District Court Judge Lewis Kaplan (Presided over the E. Jean Carroll sexual assault case; ordered Trump to release funds to NYC that were withheld because NYC is a sanctuary city)
U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs (Blocked Trump from canceling Harvard’s student visa program, student visa holder’s unfettered access to the United States; ordered Trump to restore 2.2 billion dollar funding to Harvard)
U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer (Ruled that the National Guard cannot be used to protect federal officers engaging in immigration enforcement; Ordered Trump to immediately turn over control of the National Guard to Gavin Newsome)
U.S. District Court Judge Randolph Moss (Suspended our national border)
U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman (blocked Trump from defunding/punishing the NY MTA over congestion pricing)
U.S. District Judge Hellerstein (Blocked Trump from deporting illegal alien gang members under the Aliens Enemies Act)
U.S. District Court Judge Adam Abelson, (injunction against Trump terminating DEI grants and programs )
U.S. District Court Judge James E. Boasberg (holding the Trump Administration in contempt for not returning the plane full of Venezuelan gang members; injunction against deportation of Venezuelan gang members ; released a person who threatened to disembowel the president )
U.S. District Court Judge Alvin Hellerstein, (twice rejectedTrump’s effort to move his hush money criminal case from New York state court to federal court)
U.S. District Judge Ellen Hollander ( Blocked DOGE from accessing Social Security Administration records)
U.S. District Court Judge Paul Engelmayer(Injunction DOGE Dept of Treasury, referred to Trump as a tyrant),
Judge Arthur Engoron (NY civil fraud case- levied $350,000,000 fine on Trump)
Jeffrey Goldberg (dual US-Israel citizen, former member of the Israel Defense Forces, leaked classified Signal meeting details in possible controvention of the the Espionage Act and the Official Secrets Act)
Marc Elias( over 60 lawsuits attacking voter ID laws),
Merrick Garland,
Shenna Bellows (Maine Secretary of State-Ordered Trump off the ballot ) ,
Jena Griswold (Colorado Secretary of State, ordered Trump off the ballot ),
George Soros,
Reid Hoffman (financial support for E Jean Carroll),
Leah Greenberg and Ezra Levin( financing the violent attacks against Tesla),
Judge David Ezra (stayed Texas law that permitted the arrest of illegals ),
Alejando Mayorkas,
Norm Eisen (152 lawsuits and counting against the Trump Administration)
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (Called for mass mobilization and disruption against Republicans-“These Republicans cannot know a moment of peace.”
Senator Elissa Slotkin (Impeachment, “war plan” against Trump)
Senator Chuck Schumer (Called for Trump 45 and 47 impeachment)
Senator Jon Ossoff (Called for Trump to be impeached in 2025)
Adam Schiff ( impeachment, evidence of Russian collusion)
Rep. Laura Friedman (colluding with state AGs to engage in lawfare against Trump)
Senator Brian Schatz (Holding up over 300 of Trump’s nominations )
Rep. Jamie Raskin ( threatened foreign governments that support Trump, co-sponsored legislation to keep Trump of the ballot)
Senator Chuck Shumer (led government shutdown in an attempt to preserve benefits for illegals; multiple threats against Trump)
Rep. Sara Jacobs (Congress- Bill to defund DOGE)
Rep. Debbie Wasserman- Schultz( co-sponsored legislation to remove Trump from the ballot),
Organizers and funders of Not a King/ Anti-ICE protests:
George Soros
Alex Soros
Alex Soros
Marc Benioff
Marc Zuckerberg
Hansjörg Wyss
Leah Greenberg,
Ezra Levin
Robert Weissman
, Donna Lieberman
Randi Weingarten
I wonder how many “Trump judges” our valiant GOP is getting into the system...
Cloward-Piven, one of the left's favorite non-violent tools.
Tell hizzoner to pound sand.
Democrats have miraculously reintroduced slavery to America while nobody complained. Yet.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.