Latest news with #federal judge
Washington Post
7 days ago
- Washington Post
Judges order Abrego García's release in Tennessee, return to Maryland
A federal judge in Tennessee on Wednesday ordered that Kilmar Abrego García be released from criminal detention as he awaits trial on human smuggling charges, while a federal judge in Maryland ordered that the Salvadoran migrant be returned to that state and placed under the same supervision that existed before he was wrongly deported in March.
CNN
7 days ago
- Politics
- CNN
Abrego Garcia to remain behind bars for at least a month even as judge rejects Trump administration's claim he's dangerous
A federal judge in Tennessee declined on Wednesday to undo a separate judge's decision to let Kilmar Abrego Garcia remain free while he awaits trial on human smuggling charges — though he'll continue to remain behind bars for at least another month. The ruling from US District Judge Waverly Crenshaw said federal prosecutors had not shown 'through clear and convincing evidence' that Abrego Garcia would present a danger to others or the community if he were allowed to remain out of criminal custody as his case unfolds. 'The government's general statements about the crimes brought against Abrego, and the evidence it has in support of those crimes, do not prove Abrego's dangerousness,' Crenshaw wrote in a 37-page ruling rejecting a request from the Trump administration that he should reverse a ruling by a magistrate judge in Nashville that also said prosecutors hadn't made a strong case for keeping Abrego Garcia behind bars for now. But the magistrate judge — Barbara Holmes — said in another decision that Abrego Garcia would remain behind bars for at least 30 more days, granting an unopposed request by his lawyers for him to stay in criminal custody. Abrego Garcia's lawyers had made the request earlier this week in an effort to ensure removal proceedings wouldn't quickly begin once he's released from custody. Just as Crenshaw, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, released his ruling, a third judge in Maryland who is overseeing a civil case brought by Abrego Garcia and his family over his wrongful deportation earlier this year to El Salvador released her own ruling that bars the administration from quickly deporting him again should he be released from criminal custody in coming days. That ruling from US District Judge Paula Xinis, also an Obama appointee, is meant to do two things: Restore Abrego Garcia to the immigration position he was in before his deportation in mid-March and ensure his due process rights aren't violated again should officials try to remove him from the US a second time. 'These rulings are a powerful rebuke of the government's lawless conduct and a critical safeguard for Kilmar's due process rights,' said Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, one of Abrego Garcia's attorneys, in a statement. 'After the government unlawfully deported him once without warning, this legal protection is essential.' Xinis is prohibiting the Trump administration from taking Abrego Garcia into US Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody once he's released from criminal custody, and she ordered officials to put him back into the position of being under supervision by the ICE Baltimore Field Office, which is what his status quo was prior to mid-March. That supervision allowed him to work and live in Maryland, with occasional check-ins with an immigration officer. 'Once Abrego Garcia is restored under the ICE Supervision Order out of the Baltimore Field Office, Defendants may take whatever action is available to them under the law,' the judge wrote, adding that it's possible he could be ordered to appear before immigration officials in Baltimore, who may begin the process of deporting him. 'So long as such actions are taken within the bounds of the Constitution and applicable statutes, this Court will have nothing further to say,' Xinis wrote. The Trump administration quickly criticized the judge's decision. 'The fact this unhinged judge is trying to tell ICE they can't arrest an MS-13 gang member, indicted by a grand jury for human trafficking, and subject to immigration arrest under federal law is LAWLESS AND INSANE,' Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said on X, referring to the government's allegation that Abrego Garcia is a gang member. The ruling also puts guardrails on the government's ability to quickly deport Abrego Garcia to a nation other than his home country of El Salvador. Those measures, the judge said, are meant to ensure the government won't run roughshod over Abrego Garcia's due process rights, which include having the chance to raise a claim that he has a fear of facing torture in the third country the government may want to deport him to. Should officials be planning to deport him to a third country, they must give his lawyers at least 72 hours' notice prior to that intended removal so he has an opportunity to make such 'claims of credible fear or seek any other relief available to him under the law and the Constitution.' The Maryland father of three was wrongly deported to El Salvador in mid-March, setting off a monthslong legal fracas before Xinis, who ordered the government to secure his return to the US. He was brought back to the US last month to face federal human smuggling charges in Tennessee. Abrego Garcia is currently in pre-trial detention in Tennessee but could soon be released from that court's authority and turned over to the Department of Homeland Security. Last month, his attorneys in the case before Xinis, of the federal court in Greenbelt, Maryland, raised concerns that the Trump administration would quickly deport him once he's out of criminal custody and back in the hands of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The government has wavered in recent weeks on whether they would deport him before he stands trial in the human smuggling case.' 'All we're trying to do for today is ensure that there is no constitutional violation,' Andrew Rossman, one of Abrego Garcia's attorneys, said during a recent court hearing. The government is already barred from removing Abrego Garcia to El Salvador because of a 2019 order from an immigration judge.
CNN
7 days ago
- Politics
- CNN
Abrego Garcia to remain behind bars for at least a month even as judge rejects Trump administration's claim he's dangerous
A federal judge in Tennessee declined on Wednesday to undo a separate judge's decision to let Kilmar Abrego Garcia remain free while he awaits trial on human smuggling charges — though he'll continue to remain behind bars for at least another month. The ruling from US District Judge Waverly Crenshaw said federal prosecutors had not shown 'through clear and convincing evidence' that Abrego Garcia would present a danger to others or the community if he were allowed to remain out of criminal custody as his case unfolds. 'The government's general statements about the crimes brought against Abrego, and the evidence it has in support of those crimes, do not prove Abrego's dangerousness,' Crenshaw wrote in a 37-page ruling rejecting a request from the Trump administration that he should reverse a ruling by a magistrate judge in Nashville that also said prosecutors hadn't made a strong case for keeping Abrego Garcia behind bars for now. But the magistrate judge — Barbara Holmes — said in another decision that Abrego Garcia would remain behind bars for at least 30 more days, granting an unopposed request by his lawyers for him to stay in criminal custody. Abrego Garcia's lawyers had made the request earlier this week in an effort to ensure removal proceedings wouldn't quickly begin once he's released from custody. Just as Crenshaw, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, released his ruling, a third judge in Maryland who is overseeing a civil case brought by Abrego Garcia and his family over his wrongful deportation earlier this year to El Salvador released her own ruling that bars the administration from quickly deporting him again should he be released from criminal custody in coming days. That ruling from US District Judge Paula Xinis, also an Obama appointee, is meant to do two things: Restore Abrego Garcia to the immigration position he was in before his deportation in mid-March and ensure his due process rights aren't violated again should officials try to remove him from the US a second time. 'These rulings are a powerful rebuke of the government's lawless conduct and a critical safeguard for Kilmar's due process rights,' said Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, one of Abrego Garcia's attorneys, in a statement. 'After the government unlawfully deported him once without warning, this legal protection is essential.' Xinis is prohibiting the Trump administration from taking Abrego Garcia into US Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody once he's released from criminal custody, and she ordered officials to put him back into the position of being under supervision by the ICE Baltimore Field Office, which is what his status quo was prior to mid-March. That supervision allowed him to work and live in Maryland, with occasional check-ins with an immigration officer. 'Once Abrego Garcia is restored under the ICE Supervision Order out of the Baltimore Field Office, Defendants may take whatever action is available to them under the law,' the judge wrote, adding that it's possible he could be ordered to appear before immigration officials in Baltimore, who may begin the process of deporting him. 'So long as such actions are taken within the bounds of the Constitution and applicable statutes, this Court will have nothing further to say,' Xinis wrote. The Trump administration quickly criticized the judge's decision. 'The fact this unhinged judge is trying to tell ICE they can't arrest an MS-13 gang member, indicted by a grand jury for human trafficking, and subject to immigration arrest under federal law is LAWLESS AND INSANE,' Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said on X, referring to the government's allegation that Abrego Garcia is a gang member. The ruling also puts guardrails on the government's ability to quickly deport Abrego Garcia to a nation other than his home country of El Salvador. Those measures, the judge said, are meant to ensure the government won't run roughshod over Abrego Garcia's due process rights, which include having the chance to raise a claim that he has a fear of facing torture in the third country the government may want to deport him to. Should officials be planning to deport him to a third country, they must give his lawyers at least 72 hours' notice prior to that intended removal so he has an opportunity to make such 'claims of credible fear or seek any other relief available to him under the law and the Constitution.' The Maryland father of three was wrongly deported to El Salvador in mid-March, setting off a monthslong legal fracas before Xinis, who ordered the government to secure his return to the US. He was brought back to the US last month to face federal human smuggling charges in Tennessee. Abrego Garcia is currently in pre-trial detention in Tennessee but could soon be released from that court's authority and turned over to the Department of Homeland Security. Last month, his attorneys in the case before Xinis, of the federal court in Greenbelt, Maryland, raised concerns that the Trump administration would quickly deport him once he's out of criminal custody and back in the hands of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The government has wavered in recent weeks on whether they would deport him before he stands trial in the human smuggling case.' 'All we're trying to do for today is ensure that there is no constitutional violation,' Andrew Rossman, one of Abrego Garcia's attorneys, said during a recent court hearing. The government is already barred from removing Abrego Garcia to El Salvador because of a 2019 order from an immigration judge.
News.com.au
22-07-2025
- Politics
- News.com.au
Judge presses Trump admin on Harvard funding cuts
A federal judge on Monday challenged the Trump administration's reasons for slashing billions of dollars in federal funding to Harvard University, triggering a furious response from the president. Judge Allison Burroughs pressed the administration's lawyer to explain how cutting grants to diverse research budgets would help protect students from alleged campus anti-Semitism, US media reported. Trump preemptively fired off a post on his Truth Social platform blasting Burroughs, an appointee of Democratic president Barack Obama, claiming without evidence that she had already decided against his government -- and vowing to appeal. The Ivy League institution sued in April to restore more than $2 billion in frozen funds. The administration insists its move is legally justified over Harvard's failure to protect Jewish and Israeli students, particularly amid campus protests against Israel's war in Gaza. The threat to Harvard's funding stream forced it to implement a hiring freeze while pausing ambitious research programs, particularly in the public health and medical spheres, that experts warned risked American lives. Harvard has argued that the administration is pursuing "unconstitutional retaliation" against it and several other universities targeted by Trump early in his second term. Both sides have sought a summary judgment to avoid trial, but it was unclear if Burroughs would grant one either way. The judge pressed the lone lawyer representing Trump's administration to explain how cutting funding to Harvard's broad spectrum of research related to combatting anti-Semitism, the Harvard Crimson student newspaper reported from court. "The Harvard case was just tried in Massachusetts before an Obama appointed Judge. She is a TOTAL DISASTER, which I say even before hearing her Ruling," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "Harvard has $52 Billion Dollars sitting in the Bank, and yet they are anti-Semitic, anti-Christian, and anti-America," he claimed, pointing to the university's world-leading endowment. Both Harvard and the American Association of University Professors brought cases against the Trump administration's measures which were combined and heard Monday. - 'Control of academic decision making' - Trump has sought to have the case heard in the Court of Federal Claims instead of in the federal court in Boston, just miles away from the heart of the university's Cambridge campus. "This case involves the Government's efforts to use the withholding of federal funding as leverage to gain control of academic decision making at Harvard," Harvard said in its initial filing. The Ivy League institution has been at the forefront of Trump's campaign against top universities after it defied his calls to submit to oversight of its curriculum, staffing, student recruitment and "viewpoint diversity." Trump and his allies claim that Harvard and other prestigious universities are unaccountable bastions of liberal, anti-conservative bias and anti-Semitism, particularly surrounding protests against Israel's war in Gaza. The government has also targeted Harvard's ability to host international students, an important source of income who accounted for 27 percent of total enrollment in the 2024-2025 academic year. A proclamation issued in June declared that the entrance of international students to begin a course at Harvard would be "suspended and limited" for six months and that existing overseas enrollees could have their visas terminated. The move has been halted by a judge. The US government earlier this month subpoenaed Harvard University for records linked to students allegedly involved in a wave of pro-Palestinian student protests that the Trump administration labeled anti-Semitic. Washington has also told a university accrediting body that Harvard's certification should be revoked after it allegedly failed to protect Jewish students in violation of federal civil rights law.
