Federal Judge Halts Indefinite Detention of Asylum Seekers

by Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org - Home - Stephen Lendman)

The judicial ruling followed a late June one against separating family members of unwanted aliens, a preliminary injunction halting the practice.

On Monday, the US District Court for the District of Columbia ruled for Ansly Damus et al against DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen - the lawsuit against the Trump regime filed on their behalf by the ACLU, saying:

The court "blocked the arbitrary detention of asylum seekers fleeing persecution, torture, or death in their countries of origin. It also ordered a case-by-case review of whether each asylum seeker in the class-action lawsuit should be released on humanitarian parole." 

"The ruling stems from a challenge brought by the American Civil Liberties Union, Center for Gender and Refugee Studies, Human Rights First, and Covington & Burling LLP."

Federal policy assures humanitarian parole of asylum seekers awaiting a ruling on their status. The Trump regime imprisoned them indefinitely, violating international, constitutional and immigration statute laws, along with DHS policy. 

According to ACLU immigrants rights project senior attorney Michael Tan, Monday's "ruling means the Trump administration cannot use indefinite detention as a weapon to punish and deter asylum seekers."

The lawsuit targeted five ICE field offices. Plaintiffs in the suit passed credible fear screenings, signifying the legitimacy of their asylum requests.

The ACLU estimates over 1,000 unwanted aliens legitimately seeking asylum in America have been flagrantly abused, their legal rights denied.

Commenting on Monday's ruling, Human Rights First's legal director Hardy Vieux said the following:

"Today's decision will have an enormous impact on asylum seekers, who pose no risk, and are currently languishing in detention." 

"It is a rejection of the Trump administration's blanket policy of denying parole to those seeking protection in this country. We hope that our clients and those like them will no longer be wrongly held in prison-like conditions."

According to the ACLU, plaintiff Ansly Damus, a Haitian ethics teacher, has been imprisoned unjustly for over 18 months. He's guilty of no crimes, his asylum request justified.

He was granted it twice judicially, the Trump regime denying him anyway, imprisoning him, appealing his granted status.

When the lawsuit was filed on his behalf and others like him, he said "I have not breathed fresh air or felt the sun on my face, and I never know if it is cold or hot outside, if the sun is out, and if the seasons are changing."

Center for Gender and Refugee Studies co-legal director Eunice Lee issued the following statement following Monday's ruling:

"The United States has long recognized its moral and legal obligation to protect refugees, including the right to seek asylum." 

"People fleeing persecution should never be locked away just for asserting this right. Today's decision recognizes that asylum seekers deserve compassion and the protection of our laws, not punishment."

Two federal court rulings against the Trump regime's hostile policies against unwanted aliens are important steps in the right direction.

The battle for constitutionally granted due process and equal protection under law for everyone in America continues.

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