‘Downright frightening’: Judge scorches Trump administration for saying that detainees can’t argue due process violations if they would have been detained anyway

The Trump administration‘s greenish airy to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials to detain and clasp a antheral from West Africa who has lived successful the United States for much than 3 decades violated the man’s owed process rights and ICE’s ain regulations, according to a federal judge who besides called the determination “downright frightening.”

In an order issued Friday — conscionable days earlier Donald Trump told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that helium wasn’t definite if noncitizens successful the U.S. were entitled to owed process — U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo demanded the merchandise of Sering Ceesay, a 63-year-old autochthonal of Gambia who lives successful New York. According to tribunal documents, Ceesay suffers from chronic aesculapian issues, and his conflict to enactment successful the U.S. has been going connected for decades: helium was ordered successful September 1997 to voluntarily permission the state by November of that year. He didn’t, but helium did look for regular check-ins successful the years since. When helium failed to nutrient a passport astatine his scheduled gathering successful February, an ICE cause allegedly became “enraged” and ordered him to beryllium detained, Vilardo said successful the order.

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Ceesay, who is presently being represented by the enactment Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, filed a petition of habeas corpus implicit his detention. As Vilardo noted, Ceesay wasn’t challenging ICE’s “substantive authority” to detain him, but alternatively “the information that helium is being held without the due procedures.”

The judge, a Barack Obama appointee, agreed, and took the authorities to task for its statement that Ceesay would person been detained adjacent if it had provided him with owed process.

“[T]he government’s proposition — that a ailment astir failing to travel due process is nonjusticiable truthful agelong arsenic the authorities says that the effect would person been the aforesaid had it followed the required process — is downright frightening,” the justice wrote successful Friday’s order. “Procedure is not specified puffery, a motion that is irrelevant truthful agelong arsenic the effect is correct. The Constitution safeguards not conscionable substantive rights nether the instrumentality but due process arsenic well. That process is astatine the halfway of what our Constitution guarantees.”

“In the United States, adjacent a scoundrel has the close to stay escaped until owed process has proven him a scoundrel,” Vilardo added.

Ceesay’s lawyers accidental helium was ne'er fixed an accidental to hole for his deportation and departure aft being detained.

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Vilardo concluded that it’s yet intolerable for the U.S. to pridefulness itself for being a “nation of laws” erstwhile we are not consenting to supply owed process and to “extend that astir cardinal close to all,” including immigrants.

“Everyone — national and noncitizen, the guiltless and the blameworthy — is entitled to that ineffable right,” Vilardo said. “Ceesay did not get that here. And for that crushed … due to the fact that ICE did not travel its ain regulations successful deciding to re-detain Ceesay, his owed process rights were violated, and helium is entitled to release. And adjacent if that were not so, helium inactive would beryllium released due to the fact that helium was not afforded adjacent the minimal owed process that protects everyone — citizens and noncitizens — successful the United States.”

According to the national lawsuit docket, Ceesay notified the tribunal connected Saturday that helium had been released from custody. Vilardo, however, declined Ceesay’s petition to enactment his removal beyond noon Tuesday, astatine which constituent ICE whitethorn beryllium allowed to instrumentality him into custody again.