US Appeals Court Rejects Trumps Immigration Detention Policy

A US Federal Appeals Court Has Rejected the Trump Administration’s Mandatory Detention Policy

In a 3-0 decision on Tuesday, the New York-based US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled that the Trump administration misinterpreted a decades-old immigration law to justify mandatory detention. The court found that the administration relied on an incorrect interpretation of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, passed in 1996.

The ruling stated that the government’s reading “defies the statute’s context, structure, history, and purpose” and contradicts “longstanding executive branch practice.” Under the Trump administration policy, non-citizens already living in the US are subject to mandatory detention, regardless of their criminal history or length of stay.

In contrast, previous administrations had granted bond hearings to most non-citizens with no criminal record who were arrested away from the border. The appeals court ruling affirms that the Trump administration’s policy is unlawful and cannot stand.

The decision comes after two other appeals courts ruled in favor of the Trump administration’s policy. However, the New York court’s decision aligns with more than 370 lower-court judges nationwide who have rejected the administration’s position as a misreading of the law.

The ruling also upholds an order by a New York judge that led to the release of Brazilian national Ricardo Aparecido Barbosa da Cunha, who was arrested last year while driving to work after living in the US for over 20 years.

Source: Al Jazeera