7/2/2019

COURTS/IMMIGRATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “A federal judge in Seattle on Tuesday [7-2-19] blocked the Trump administration policy denying bond hearings to asylum seekers. US District Judge Marsha Pechman ruled that people who are detained after entering the US to seek protection are entitled to bond hearings and the chance to be released from custody under the Constitution…Attorney General William Barr in April announced a policy that some asylum seekers who have established credible fear and are subject to deportation cannot be released on bond by immigration judges — a major reversal from a prior ruling that could lead to immigrants being held indefinitely…The ban will go into effect in two weeks, Pechman added. The decision means the Department of Homeland Security will not have sole discretion to decide whether to release immigrants who crossed the border illegally and later claimed asylum, as the policy would have granted. The policy would have effectively blocked concerted efforts by immigration lawyers and immigrant rights advocates to push for bond hearings for detained asylum seekers.”

Dave Alsup and Caroline Kelly, “Federal judge blocks Trump policy keeping asylum seekers detained,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, July 2, 2019 9:01 pm