Federal Judge Slams Trump DHS for Detaining U.S. Citizens ‘By Mistake’ for Months
It has been five months since Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh suggested that Americans and documented individuals were not being detained by federal immigration agents – but now, a Republican-appointed federal judge says that claim is simply wrong.
U.S. District Judge Thomas E. Johnston, appointed by former President George W. Bush, issued a sharply worded opinion warning that immigrants are already being detained without basic constitutional protections – and that Americans could be next.
“Today, immigrants are being detained without due process,” Johnston wrote in his ruling. “Tomorrow, under the Government’s interpretation of the law, American citizens could be subject to the same.”
He added a stark warning about the broader implications.
“This Court will not allow such an unraveling of the Constitution,” Johnston wrote.
The decision represents a significant rebuke from a conservative federal judge and raises serious concerns about the reach of federal immigration enforcement and its potential impact on constitutional rights.
On page 28 of the ruling, Johnston added, “By the government’s own admission, its position is that if an ICE officer made a mistake and, pursuant to § 1225, detained somebody who was legally in the United States, that detainee would not be entitled to a bond hearing. Instead, that detainee— who is confined to a jail cell and may not have a mastery of the English language — could only have their case heard by a neutral judicial officer if they were somehow able to file a habeas petition with a Court of Appeals or the District Court of D.C.”
New Mexico civil litigator Owen Barcala commented, “In other words, the government believes that if you, a U.S. citizen, are detained for deportation, they can hold you in a dirty, overcrowded, unsafe, potentially measles-ridden cell for months until they get around to having a hearing with an immigration judge.”
Judge Johnston continued in the ruling, “This concession should concern everyone. A threat to anyone’s constitutional rights is a threat to us all.”
He further remarked, “‘[I]t is unconstitutional for the Government to detain a person without explanation, without a hearing, without notice or without any means of challenging that detention,’ which is ‘exactly what the Government did’ here.”
In Kavanaugh’s ruling, he wrote, “If the person is a U.S. citizen or otherwise lawfully in the United States, that individual will be free to go after the brief encounter.”
He claimed that stops by federal law enforcement also require reasonable suspicion of illegal presence. Other courts have found that agents are using color and language to determine “suspicion.”
Such stops have become known colloquially as “The Kavanaugh Stop” as a result.
