DOJ Feels The Squeeze As DHS's Courtroom Pain Sponge - Above the Law

"The Court is not aware of another occasion in the history of the United States in which a federal court has had to threaten contempt-again and again and again-to force the United States government to comply with court orders. This Court will continue to do whatever is required to protect the rule of law, including, if necessary, moving to the use of criminal contempt."

"An ICE memo issued in July wrenched a clause out of 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b) to justify mandatory detention of virtually every immigrant without permanent legal residence. In reality, the statute deals with asylum seekers at the border, who can be detained for up to nine days pending a credible fear hearing. But DHS is using it to justify arresting people who were paroled into the country years, or even decades, ago and interning them indefinitely."

"Outside the Fifth Circuit, judges have uniformly rejected this contrived interpretation. But ICE continues to snatch up longterm residents and intern them, provoking an avalanche of habeas cases which have to be dealt with immediately. This is stretching US Attorney's Offices past the breaking point, and they were already short-staffed."

Chief Judge Patrick Schiltz of the District of Minnesota threatened criminal contempt charges against the federal government for repeatedly violating court orders. The conflict stems from an ICE memo misinterpreting a statute intended for border asylum seekers to justify indefinite detention of long-term residents. Federal judges outside the Fifth Circuit have uniformly rejected this interpretation, yet ICE continues mass arrests, creating an avalanche of habeas cases. The situation overwhelms US Attorney's Offices already struggling with staffing shortages. ICE compounds the problem by disregarding court orders and mistreating detainees, prompting judges to issue detailed release instructions including return of belongings and identification.

Read at Above the Law