Federal judge blocks Trump administration from blanket detention of asylum seekers

Asylum-seekers from Central America with a Border Patrol agent.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

On Monday, a federal judge ruled that the Department of Homeland Security has been ignoring its own 2009 directive requiring that asylum seekers receive individualized reviews of their cases, instead making blanket detention decisions.

District Judge James Boasberg of the District of Columbia issued a nationwide preliminary injunction that necessitates the Department of Homeland Security follow the directive. "To mandate that ICE provide these baseline procedures to those entering our country — individuals who have often fled violence and persecution to seek safety on our shores — is no great judicial leap," he said.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.