Federal judge in California accuses Trump administration of terror' against immigrants in scathing ruling

"A federal judge has accused the Trump administration of terrorizing immigrants and recklessly violating the law in its efforts to deport millions of people living in the country illegally. Citing the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minnesota, the judge said that the White House had also extended its violence on its own citizens. The threats posed by the executive branch cannot be viewed in isolation, U.S. District Judge Sunshine Sykes in Riverside, California said in her scathing decision issued late Wednesday."

"Sykes ordered the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to provide detained immigrants around the country with notice of her earlier decisions that they may be eligible to seek release on bond. Under past administrations, people with no criminal record could generally request a bond hearing before an immigration judge while their cases wound through immigration court unless they were stopped at the border. President Donald Trump 's White House reversed that policy in favor of mandatory detention."

"Sykes, who was nominated by President Joe Biden, a Democrat, ruled in November and again in December that the change violated the law and extended her decision to immigrants nationwide. The Republican administration, however, has continued denying bond hearings. That has prompted thousands of immigrants to file separate petitions in federal court seeking their release. More than 20,000 habeas corpus cases have been filed since Trump's inauguration, according to federal court records analyzed by the AP."

U.S. District Judge Sunshine Sykes concluded that the administration terrorized immigrants and recklessly violated immigration law while pursuing mass deportations. Sykes cited deaths in Minnesota and said executive-branch threats extend to citizens. She ordered the Department of Homeland Security to notify detained immigrants nationwide that they may be eligible for bond hearings. The administration replaced prior practice allowing noncriminal detainees bond hearings with mandatory detention and continued denying hearings despite Sykes' November and December rulings. Thousands of immigrants filed habeas petitions, exceeding 20,000 cases, as denials deprived detainees of liberty, economic stability, and dignity.

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