A federal judge dealt President Donald Trump another blow Friday afternoon, stopping his administration from deporting any illegal immigrant to a country they didn't come from.
The Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) came after another block was extended – on deportations under the Alien Enemies Act – and another judge ruled that the administration cannot dismantle the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).
Newsweek reached out to the U.S. Department of Justice and the White House for comment via email out of hours on Friday.
Why It Matters
The legal blows are more barriers to Trump's sweeping policies on immigration and what he views as the necessary changes needed to cut federal government bloat and bureaucracy. The president has become increasingly frustrated with district judges having the power to stop his administration in its tracks.
What To Know
In Boston, U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy ruled that immigrants—both the plaintiffs in the case and all with orders of final removal—could not be deported to a third country until they were given a chance to argue their case.
The lawsuit, brought on Sunday by four plaintiffs from Cuba, Honduras, Ecuador, and Guatemala, alongside the National Immigration Litigation Alliance (NILA), alleged that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) failed to implement a uniform system to notify deportees what it plans to do with them, and give them a chance to ask for protections.
NILA said the suit was also challenging a February 18 directive from DHS to fast-track the removals of those previously released from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention, which it said put deportees at risk of torture if removed without proper assessment.
The Trump administration was also dealt another blow when it came to enacting its mass deportation plan, with the TRO blocking removal flights under the Alien Enemies Act extended by U.S. District Judge James Boasberg in D.C. Flights are now barred until at least April 12.
When it came to the CFPB, U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson, again in the District of Columbia, issued a 112-page ruling in favor of those challenging the administration's aim of dismantling the office completely.
Jackson admonished the administration's efforts to show it was not intending to eliminate the CFPB as last-minute "window dressing" and that it was, in fact, intending to do something "completely in violation of the law" by closing CFPB down.
Most of the bureau's operations were halted in February, impacting protections offered to consumers, such as a ban on certain banking fees. Jackson's ruling puts this process on hold, pending further hearings on the bureau's projects, workforce, and the data it holds.
What People Are Saying
Judge Murphy, speaking to a DOJ attorney in court Friday: "If your position today is that we don't have to give them any notice, and we can send them to any country other than the country to which the immigration court has said no, that's a very surprising thing to hear the government say."
Judge Jackson in her order: "If the President finds the Consumer Financial Protection Act to be unsatisfactory, the administration will remain completely free to advance his agenda by proposing legislation that reconfigures the agency in a manner that is consistent with his policy preferences. It will then be up to Congress to weigh the advantages of any specific proposal aimed at streamlining the agency against the benefits of sustaining the CFPB, which has been fulfilling its mission to return billions of dollars to consumers at no cost to the taxpayers since 2010."
Wendy Liu, an attorney with Public Citizen Litigation Group, in a press release: "Dismantling the CFPB would have devastating consequences for consumers across the country. The Court's order is a crucial step towards preserving the agency and blocking the Trump administration's illegal attempt to shutter it."
What's Next
Further court battles on all three cases are likely in the coming weeks, while other aspects of the president's sweeping policy changes also face legal challenges.
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About the writer
Dan Gooding is a Newsweek reporter based in New York City. His focus is reporting on immigration and border security. ... Read more