The Greater Los Angeles Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-LA) today welcomed the recent release of two of its clients from immigration detention after a federal court granted the organization’s separate petitions for a writ of habeas corpus.
Both clients—a man from the Middle East and a single mother of three from Latin America—are disabled individuals and hold humanitarian-based immigration relief that grants them protection from deportation to their home countries. On separate occasions, CAIR-LA’s clients were unjustly detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which attempted to deport them to countries they had never been to. Both clients failed to receive notice, an explanation for their detention, or an opportunity to prepare.
In response to the detentions, CAIR-LA filed habeas corpus petitions arguing that the government violated its clients’ constitutional rights to due process. The federal courts’ decisions found that both clients were detained by ICE unlawfully and ordered their release under the protection of the court.
A habeas petition is a judicial order requiring law enforcement to produce a detainee and justify their continued confinement. Habeas petitions are heard in federal courts, separate from immigration courts, and historically were considered an extraordinary form of immigration relief.
In a statement, CAIR-LA Immigrants’ Rights Senior Managing Attorney Amina Fields, Esq., said:
“The Trump administration continues to use a cruel and blatantly unconstitutional policy of ‘detain first, justify later’ to openly punish immigrant communities. It is particularly unconscionable when the targets of these unlawful policies are people who have already been granted immigration relief based on documented fears in their home countries. Federal courts have become one of the few remaining avenues for checks and balances as the administration continues to implement reckless immigration policies. For many clients, habeas litigation is no longer a last resort; it is one of the only paths to justice.”
In a statement from one of the attorneys who assisted with the case, CAIR-LA Immigrants’ Rights Fellow Ibrahim Bharmal, said:
“The court’s decision to grant habeas corpus for our clients reaffirms the fundamental truth that no administration or government entity is above the law. We are happy that both our clients are now home and reunited with their families, protected by the federal court. As they begin to rebuild their lives, we will continue to use the law as a tool to hold the Trump administration—and any future administrations—accountable when it violates, targets, and preys on our most vulnerable community members.”
CAIR-LA encourages community members with questions about detention or immigration court proceedings to contact an immigration attorney. To contact CAIR-LA’s Immigrants’ Rights Center, call (714) 776-1177 (ext. 1) or click here to submit an intake form.
CAIR-LA is Southern California’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice and empower American Muslims.
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CONTACT: CAIR-LA Communications Manager Enjy El-Kadi, (714) 851-4851 or eelkadi@cair.com; CAIR-LA Senior Communications Coordinator Madi Hameed, mmorse-hameed@cair.com