A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by the Trump administration targeting all judges of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland over a standing order that automatically pauses deportations for illegal immigrants who file habeas corpus petitions.
The ruling reinforces judicial discretion and highlights the limits of executive action in immigration enforcement.
U.S. District Judge Thomas Cullen, a Trump appointee, emphasized the constitutional separation of powers in his decision.
“In their wisdom, the Constitution’s framers joined three coordinate branches to establish a single sovereign,” Cullen wrote. “Mediating disputes must occur in a manner that respects the Judiciary’s constitutional role.”
He concluded that pursuing the lawsuit would “run counter to overwhelming precedent, depart from longstanding constitutional tradition, and offend the rule of law.”
The lawsuit, brought in June by the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice (DOJ), challenged a standing order issued by Chief Judge George Russell.
The order automatically grants a two-day pause on deportations for any illegal immigrant filing a habeas petition, regardless of where the individual is detained.
The DOJ argued the practice interferes with executive authority and wastes time critical to implementing immigration policies.
“Every unlawful order entered by the district courts robs the Executive Branch of its most scarce resource: time to put its policies into effect,” the DOJ complaint stated.
In particular, the administration highlighted instances in which attorneys mistakenly filed habeas petitions claiming an illegal immigrant was detained in Maryland, even if the individual was held in another state.
“Unbelievably, an injunction automatically issues even if an immigration attorney files a habeas petition in Maryland incorrectly stating that the illegal alien is detained in Maryland, when the illegal alien is actually detained in Texas. (This literally happened.),” said Chad Mizelle, Chief of Staff to the DOJ, per The Gateway Pundit.
Lawyers representing the Maryland judges described the lawsuit as unprecedented, arguing it undermined the judiciary’s constitutional independence.
Judge Cullen sided with that view, denying a preliminary injunction as moot and dismissing the case.
He suggested that the DOJ could pursue alternative avenues, such as raising objections through habeas proceedings or appealing to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
The ruling leaves the standing order in effect, maintaining automatic pauses on deportations in the Maryland district and ensuring that judges retain discretion in reviewing habeas petitions filed by detained illegal immigrants.
The court has previously served as a frequent venue for legal challenges to federal immigration actions, including cases like Salvadoran national Kilmar Abrego Garcia, whose deportation was temporarily halted under the same standing order, the Washington Examiner reports.
Legal experts note that the decision underscores the judiciary’s role in managing habeas petitions and deportation cases.
The dismissal is also notable for the political implications it carries, as it highlights tensions between executive ambition and judicial authority.
Observers say the ruling may influence how federal agencies approach immigration enforcement in other districts, particularly regarding automatic procedural orders and the proper channels for challenging them.
The post Trump-Appointed Judge Tosses Trump Admin’s Lawsuit Against Maryland Judges appeared first on Resist the Mainstream.
Click this link for the original source of this article.
Author: Gloriel Howard
This content is courtesy of, and owned and copyrighted by, https://resistthemainstream.org and its author. This content is made available by use of the public RSS feed offered by the host site and is used for educational purposes only. If you are the author or represent the host site and would like this content removed now and in the future, please contact USSANews.com using the email address in the Contact page found in the website menu.