"An immigrant legal advocacy group filed suit Monday against the Department of Justice in an effort to elucidate what new policies federal immigration judges are being directed to follow when denying bond to immigrants who've been detained. New York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG) alleges the DOJ didn't respond to its Freedom of Information Act request seeking materials and communication between the Justice Department and immigration judges, like those at 26 Federal Plaza, regarding policies, practices, guidance documents and directives governing when bond should be granted or denied, which it filed in Manhattan federal court after bond denials spiked during Trump's second term."
"NYLAG attorneys Kate Fetrow and Shannon Lee told amNewYork that, previously, immigration judges would grant bond to detained immigrants as their removal cases proceeded as long as they weren't a flight risk or a threat to society. Now, the attorneys say, clients who would've been let out of detention are being kept locked up for months on end for reasons that don't make sense, and they can't figure out why. We want to know what the standards are that immigration judges are using, Lee said."
"From NYLAG's perspective, it feels like the Department of Justice is rewriting the rules to a game that none of us are privy to. If we don't know what the rules are and the standards are, it makes representing our clients incredibly difficult. Just 346 immigrants were granted bond between January and March of this year a shocking drop from just one year ago, when 2,400 immigrants were released on bond each month, according to NYLAG's suit."
"The Department of Justice declined to respond to amNewYork's questions on the suit and on the policies immigration judges are being directed to follow when denying bond, stating it does not comment on pending litigation. Immigrant advocates cite important need' to know bond policies NYLAG's suit says that there's an important need for the DOJ to provide it with this inf"
An immigrant legal advocacy group sued the Department of Justice to obtain records under the Freedom of Information Act about policies federal immigration judges follow when denying bond to detained immigrants. The group alleges the DOJ did not respond to requests for communications and guidance between the Justice Department and immigration judges, including directives about when bond should be granted or denied. The group says bond decisions have changed, with detained clients kept locked up for months for reasons that are unclear. It cites a sharp drop in bond grants, from thousands released monthly in the prior year to only a few hundred in recent months. The DOJ declined to comment on the suit and related questions.
Read at www.amny.com
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