Top ICE Lawyer in Minnesota Departs as Immigration Lawsuits Overwhelm Courts
Every delay has consequences.
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The article seems to be saying the federal government is overwhelmed by the lawsuits and the government's own lawyers are refusing to defend these cases.
The next administration if it's a Democratic one, is going to spend a significant amount of taxpayer dollars settling lawsuits. I doubt a democratic administration is going to want to defend the trump administration's illegal actions.
One could argue, "when administrations change, the Department of Justice doesn’t automatically abandon ongoing defenses." I would have to disagree with that, they often do in these polarized times. Trump's DOJ stopped defending Obamacare. Biden's DOJ reversed course on numerous Trump policies. Obama's DOJ stopped defending Section 3 of DOMA.
The scale of the violations here is also unprecedented. A federal judge saying an agency violated more court orders in one month than some agencies do in their entire existence isn't normal policy disagreement territory. These aren't cases where reasonable lawyers could argue different interpretations of immigration law. These are documented instances of ignoring direct judicial orders to release people from custody.
A Democratic administration will look at this situation and refuse to spend years and millions of dollars defending the indefensible. The political cost of defending documented court order violations would be enormous, the government's legal position is fucking awful and the practical reality is that juries and judges are going to be hostile to the government's position when the evidence shows they are willfully in contempt of court.
The mass settlement costs will be substantial and taxpayers will be holding the bag.
Every delay has consequences.
archival link
The article seems to be saying the federal government is overwhelmed by the lawsuits and the government's own lawyers are refusing to defend these cases.
The next administration if it's a Democratic one, is going to spend a significant amount of taxpayer dollars settling lawsuits. I doubt a democratic administration is going to want to defend the trump administration's illegal actions.
One could argue, "when administrations change, the Department of Justice doesn’t automatically abandon ongoing defenses." I would have to disagree with that, they often do in these polarized times. Trump's DOJ stopped defending Obamacare. Biden's DOJ reversed course on numerous Trump policies. Obama's DOJ stopped defending Section 3 of DOMA.
The scale of the violations here is also unprecedented. A federal judge saying an agency violated more court orders in one month than some agencies do in their entire existence isn't normal policy disagreement territory. These aren't cases where reasonable lawyers could argue different interpretations of immigration law. These are documented instances of ignoring direct judicial orders to release people from custody.
A Democratic administration will look at this situation and refuse to spend years and millions of dollars defending the indefensible. The political cost of defending documented court order violations would be enormous, the government's legal position is fucking awful and the practical reality is that juries and judges are going to be hostile to the government's position when the evidence shows they are willfully in contempt of court.
The mass settlement costs will be substantial and taxpayers will be holding the bag.
Top ICE Lawyer in Minnesota Departs as Immigration Lawsuits Overwhelm Courts
Every delay has consequences.
archival link
The article seems to be saying the federal government is overwhelmed by the lawsuits and the government's own lawyers are refusing to defend these cases.
The next administration if it's a Democratic one, is going to spend a significant amount of taxpayer dollars settling lawsuits. I doubt a democratic administration is going to want to defend the trump administration's illegal actions.
One could argue, "when administrations change, the Department of Justice doesn’t automatically abandon ongoing defenses." I would have to disagree with that, they often do in these polarized times. Trump's DOJ stopped defending Obamacare. Biden's DOJ reversed course on numerous Trump policies. Obama's DOJ stopped defending Section 3 of DOMA.
The scale of the violations here is also unprecedented. A federal judge saying an agency violated more court orders in one month than some agencies do in their entire existence isn't normal policy disagreement territory. These aren't cases where reasonable lawyers could argue different interpretations of immigration law. These are documented instances of ignoring direct judicial orders to release people from custody.
A Democratic administration will look at this situation and refuse to spend years and millions of dollars defending the indefensible. The political cost of defending documented court order violations would be enormous, the government's legal position is fucking awful and the practical reality is that juries and judges are going to be hostile to the government's position when the evidence shows they are willfully in contempt of court.
The mass settlement costs will be substantial and taxpayers will be holding the bag.