Federal court orders temporary halt to Obama administration's 'no-release' policy
A federal court in Washington, D.C., on Friday temporarily stopped the Obama administration's 'no-release' policy, which detained some asylum-seeking mothers and their children, The Wall Street Journal reports.
The American Civil Liberties Union had filed the lawsuit last December, which challenged the policy of holding women and children despite their having passed credible-fear screenings. The ACLU argued that those awaiting asylum hearings were not a flight risk, and thus should be released ahead of their court dates. The federal court agreed with the ACLU, rejecting the administration's argument that the no-release policy was necessary in order to control what could have otherwise been a mass influx of immigrants into the country.
The "incantation of the magic word 'national security' without further substantiation is simply not enough to justify significant deprivations of liberty," the court wrote in its decision.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The U.S. government is expected to appeal the ruling.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Sarah Eberspacher is an associate editor at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked as a sports reporter at The Livingston County Daily Press & Argus and The Arizona Republic. She graduated from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.
-
4 often overlooked home maintenance tasks that could cost you laterThe Explainer A little upkeep now can save you money down the road
-
What are the pros and cons of a Roth conversion for retirement?Pros and Cons By converting a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA, retirees can skip paying taxes on their withdrawals
-
4 easy tips to avoid bank feesThe Explainer A few dollars here and there might seem insignificant, but it all adds up
-
Judge halts Trump’s DC Guard deploymentSpeed Read The Trump administration has ‘infringed upon the District’s right to govern itself,’ the judge ruled
-
Trump accuses Democrats of sedition meriting ‘death’Speed Read The president called for Democratic lawmakers to be arrested for urging the military to refuse illegal orders
-
Court strikes down Texas GOP gerrymanderSpeed Read The Texas congressional map ordered by Trump is likely an illegal racial gerrymander, the court ruled
-
Trump defends Saudi prince, shrugs off Khashoggi murderSpeed Read The president rebuked an ABC News reporter for asking Mohammed bin Salman about the death of a Washington Post journalist at the Saudi Consulate in 2018
-
Congress passes bill to force release of Epstein filesSpeed Read The Justice Department will release all files from its Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking investigation
-
Trump says he will sell F-35 jets to Saudi ArabiaSpeed Read The president plans to make several deals with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman this week
-
Judge blasts ‘profound’ errors in Comey caseSpeed Read ‘Government misconduct’ may necessitate dismissing the charges against the former FBI director altogether
-
Ecuador rejects push to allow US military basesSpeed Read Voters rejected a repeal of a constitutional ban on US and other foreign military bases in the country
