By Luis De Jesus
A federal appeals court on Tuesday rejected the policy of the Donald Trump government that sought to impose mandatory detention, without the right to bail, on large groups of immigrants in deportation proceedings, including those who have lived for years in the United States, reported CBS.
The ruling was issued by a panel of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, based in New York, which called the measure “the most extensive mass detention without bail mandate in the history of our nation for millions of non-citizens.”
In their decision, the judges warned that The Trump administration’s interpretation could generate “a seismic shock” in the immigration system, by overloading already overcrowded detention centers, imprisoning millions of people, separating families and affecting entire communities.
The policy arises from a reinterpretation last year by the Trump administration of an immigration law from the 1990s. Under that new approach, anyone who has entered the country illegally, no matter how much time has passed, She could be detained compulsorily while her case is resolved, without the possibility of requesting bail before a judge.
Before this change, many undocumented immigrants who had been in the country for years could access bail hearings and defend their cases in freedom if they demonstrated that they They did not pose a flight risk or a threat to public safety.
Mandatory detention mainly applied to those who had recently crossed the border or people with certain criminal convictions.
The court found that the new interpretation significantly expanded the scope of detention, allowing detain indefinitely even people without criminal records beyond immigration violations.
The decision, however, does not close the debate at the national level. Other appeals courts, such as those of the Fifth and 8th Circuits—based in Louisiana and Missouri— They have supported the government’s position, which shows a division in the judicial system.
The Second Circuit’s ruling applies specifically to the states of New York, Connecticut and Vermont.
The opinion was written by Judge Joseph Bianco, appointed by Trump, and was supported by Justices José Cabranes, appointed by Invoice Clinton, and Alison Nathan, appointed by Joe Biden.
Following the ruling, the Department of Homeland Security defended the policy and He assured that the administration is applying the law “as it was written to keep the United States safe.” In addition, he maintained that higher instances, such as the Supreme Court, could reverse similar decisions and agree with the government.
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