Trump’s immigration enforcement push puts pressure on federal courts, judges voice concerns

Federal judges across the country say they are being inundated with emergency lawsuits from immigrants swept up in President Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign, as the administration’s push for mandatory detention without bond strains court resources and sparks accusations of defying judicial orders.

What they're saying:

In one federal court district in Georgia, the enormous volume of habeas petitions has created "an administrative judicial emergency," a judge wrote in a court order on Jan. 29. U.S. District Judge Clay Land in Columbus said the Trump administration was refusing to provide bond hearings to immigrants at Georgia's Stewart Detention Center despite his "clear and definitive rulings" against mandatory detention. Instead, the court had to order the hearing in each individual case, wrote Land, a nominee of Republican President George W. Bush.

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In Minnesota, where the administration's immigration enforcement surge continues, U.S. District Chief Judge Patrick Schiltz said in a Jan. 26 order Trump officials had made "no provision for dealing with the hundreds of habeas petitions and other lawsuits that were sure to result." The court had received more than 400 habeas petitions in January alone, according to a filing by the government in a separate case.

Schiltz, who was also nominated by Bush, said in a separate order two days later that the government since January had failed to comply with scores of court decisions ordering it to release or provide other relief to people arrested during Operation Metro Surge.
 

The other side:

The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement on Friday that the administration was "more than prepared to handle the legal caseload necessary to deliver President Trump’s deportation agenda for the American people."

DHS and the Justice Department, which also emailed a statement, slammed the judiciary.

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"If rogue judges followed the law in adjudicating cases and respected the Government’s obligation to properly prepare cases, there wouldn’t be an ‘overwhelming’ habeas caseload or concern over DHS following orders," the Justice Department statement said.

What's next:

Land, the federal judge in Georgia, directed other judges in his district to immediately order the government to provide bond hearings to immigrants who meet criteria established by two previous habeas cases.

Maryland District Court Chief Judge George L. Russell III has ordered the administration not to immediately remove any immigrants who file habeas petitions with his court, under certain conditions. Russell, who was nominated by President Barack Obama, a Democrat, said in an amended order in December that the court had received an influx of habeas petitions after hours that "resulted in hurried and frustrating hearings."

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In Tacoma, Washington, U.S. District Judge Tiffany Cartwright ordered the administration last month to give immigrants detained at a processing center in Tacoma notice of her ruling that the mandatory detention policy was illegal. Cartwright, who was also nominated by Biden, said the high volume of habeas filings had put a "tremendous strain" on immigration attorneys and the court.