Trump admin sued over termination of TPS
The ACLU of Southern California on March 12 filed a lawsuit (PDF) in federal court on behalf of several immigrants with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and citizens whose parents have TPS, challenging the Trump administration's revocation of the status for over 200,000 people. The Trump administration has terminated TPS for all people from El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua and Sudan. The suit contends that the Trump administration's interpretation of the TPS statute is unconstitutional as it interferes with the right of school-aged citizen children of TPS beneficiaries to reside in the country. The young citizens would have to choose whether to leave the country or to remain without their parents.
The suit next alleges that the interpretation violates the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment and the Equal Protection guarantee of the 14th Amendment because it is based on biases against certain races and national origins—particularly those of people from countries Trump has described in derogatory terms.
The plaintiffs also assert that the administration's decision deviates from prior interpretations in a manner that violates the Administrative Procedure Act. They claim that these actions disregarded the interests of those who have been living in the country peacefully, and are "arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law."
From Jurist, March 13. Used with permission.
ICE sued for detaining immigrant teens
The National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC) filed a lawsuit in federal court on March 5 in Washington, DC, alleging that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) [official website] consistently fails in following guidelines in federal statute by transferring immigrant teenagers into adult detention facilities upon turning 18. The complaint was brought on behalf of youths who came unattended to the US and were moved from government shelters to detention centers upon turning 18. The suit cites amendments to the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act. NIJC argues that the government is violating language calling for ICE to "consider placement in the least restrictive setting available after taking into account the alien's danger to self, danger to the community, and risk of flight" when teens are transferred after turning 18. (Jurist)
Vietnamese refugees fight deportation
Several Vietnamese immigrants who had been living legally for many years in the United States have been detained by the federal government and are facing possible deportation back to Vietnam—where they may face persecution. They've launched suit against the government over their detention and state of "legal limbo." The government says they violated terms of their status by committing crimes—including growing small quantities of cannabis. See full story at Global Ganja Report...
Trump ends program shielding Liberians from deportation
President Donald Trump on March 27 issued a memorandum announcing his decision not to extend the Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) protection for Liberians that had been in place since the 1990s. The administration has instated a "wind-down" period of 12 months to allow former DED protected individuals who are not able to apply for other programs to make arrangements for leaving the country. Liberians benefiting from the DED protection will have to leave the country by March 31, 2019, or face deportation. (Jurist)
US blocked from discontinuing protections for immigrants
A judge for the US District Court in San Francisco issued a temporary injunction that bars the Trump administration from discontinuing a program that gave Temporary Protected Status to immigrants from Sudan, Nicaragua, Haiti and El Salvador. The order follows a lawsuit filed in March against the Department of Homeland Security by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of TPS recipients and their children. (Jurist, AP)
9th Circuit upholds Trump's suspension of TPS
A federal appeals court ruled Sept. 14 that the Trump administration acted within its authority in terminating legal protections that have allowed hundreds of thousands of immigrants to live and work legally in the United States after fleeing conflict or natural disasters in their home countries.
The 2-1 ruling by the US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals effectively strips legal immigration status from some 400,000 people, rendering them deportable if they do not voluntarily leave the country. The decision affects the overwhelming majority of beneficiaries of a program offering "temporary protected status." (NYT)