The federal court for the Eastern District of New York issued
an emergency stay halting deportations under President Donald Trump’s executive order banning entry to the US from seven majority-Muslim countries tonight, following widespread protests at airports around the country. The stay prevents the government from sending immigrants back to their home countries because it would cause them “irreparable harm,” but it is unclear if they will have to remain in detention until a substantive ruling on the constitutionality of the ban is delivered. “If someone is not being released, I guess I’ll just hear from you,” Judge Ann Donnelly told the plaintiff’s lawyers, according to the New York Times.
The court ruled on a habeas corpus petition
filed by the ACLU on behalf of Hameed Khalid Darweesh and Sameer Abdulkhaleq Alshawi, who were denied entry to the US upon landing at JFK airport in New York City and detained indefinitely by Customs and Border Patrol.
The court specifically ruled on Darweesh and Alshawi’s petition;
other similarly-situated people being detained and those in transit are covered by the ruling, which is only temporary. But the point of a stay is to preserve the status quo while a permanent ruling is made —
It’s clear that the White House will argue to have the executive order reinstated as soon as possible while it fights to show the ban is constitutional.
http://www.theverge.com/2017/1/28/14427086/federal-court-halts-trumps-immigration-ban
