from the try-try-again dept
When a federal decide dominated final week that Marco Rubio can’t simply declare that the US can detain inexperienced card holder Mahmoud Khalil primarily based on the Secretary of State’s “vibes examine” evaluation of his political opinions, you may suppose Khalil would lastly be free to return to his household.
You’d be flawed. The DOJ has determined to play the traditional bureaucratic shell recreation: “Oh, that purpose for detaining him was unconstitutional? No drawback—we’ve obtained one other one.”
On Friday, his attorneys requested the decide to order Khalil’s launch.
Mr. Khalil submits this letter to respectfully request this Courtroom order Mr. Khalil’s launch pursuant to this Courtroom’s June 11, 2025 order and opinion enjoining Mr. Khalil’s elimination and detention primarily based on the Secretary of State’s willpower. ECF 299. In accordance with the Courtroom’s Order, Mr. Khalil has happy the necessities for this preliminary injunction and has posted his Bond. ECF 300. The Authorities has not filed a discover of attraction of this Courtroom’s Order by the Courtroom-ordered deadline for the preliminary injunction to be in impact. Nor has the Authorities represented that Mr. Khalil is being detained primarily based on any floor aside from the one the Courtroom enjoined. See Exhibit A (e mail change between Respondents and Mr. Khalil’s immigration Counsel). The Authorities has declined to supply details about plans for Mr. Khalil’s launch at this time. See id. Per the Courtroom’s factual discovering that “it’s overwhelmingly doubtless that the Petitioner wouldn’t be detained primarily based solely on the lawful-permanent-resident utility cost,” and that “detention virtually absolutely flows from the Secretary of State’s willpower,” this Courtroom ought to order his launch forthwith.
The DOJ responded by saying that the courtroom ruling makes no distinction concerning Khalil’s detainment, as a result of they produce other causes to maintain him locked up.
The Courtroom expressly famous that its holdings “haven’t any impression on efforts to take away the Petitioner for causes aside from the Secretary of State’s willpower.” ECF No. 299 at 13 n.14. And, whereas the Courtroom made a factual discovering that it was unlikely that Khalil can be detained on one other foundation, id. at 10, the Courtroom by no means held that it might be illegal for Respondents to detain Khalil primarily based on one other cost of removability. Khalil is charged as detachable on a floor aside from the Secretary of State’s willpower. See ECF No. 90-1 at 5. Khalil is now detained primarily based on that different cost of removability. Detaining Khalil primarily based on that different floor of elimination is lawful. 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a). An alien like Khalil could also be detained throughout the pendency of elimination proceedings whatever the cost of removability.
That is prosecutorial gamesmanship at its most cynical. The DOJ is actually admitting that their main justification for detention was so weak {that a} federal decide needed to step in and cease it. However somewhat than acknowledge they obtained it flawed and launch Khalil, they’re doubling down by dusting off what seems to be a backup cost.
It’s the authorized equal of a cop who pulls you over for “dashing” however then, when that doesn’t stick, decides you have been really violating some obscure taillight regulation. Besides on this case, a person has been separated from his spouse and new child for months primarily based on what we now know was an unconstitutional willpower.
Procedurally, they could be appropriate, and the decide acknowledges as a lot in his order, principally saying that Khalil didn’t problem different causes he could also be detained, and he ought to most likely problem these earlier than an immigration decide:
It might plainly be illegal to detain the Petitioner on a cost the Courtroom preliminarily enjoined.
However by their letter of this afternoon, at ECF 304, the Respondents have now represented that the Petitioner is being detained on one other, second cost.
That second cost has not been preliminary enjoined by the Courtroom.
Because the Courtroom famous at some size on Might 28, (1) the Petitioner didn’t put ahead factual proof as to why it is perhaps illegal to detain him on the second cost, and (2) the Petitioner did not make significant authorized arguments as to that second cost….
The Petitioner has not sought appellate assessment as to the Courtroom’s Might 28 holdings.
Because the Respondents be aware of their letter at this time, a variety of avenues at the moment are out there to the Petitioner, together with a bail utility to the immigration decide presiding over the immigration case.
That’s principally saying “hey, the remainder of that is within the immigration decide’s fingers.” Whereas irritating, that could be legally correct.
But it surely additionally goes to point out simply how unnecessarily aggressive the Trump regime and Rubio are being right here. There are not any good causes to maintain Khalil locked up. Hell, there have been no good causes to detain him within the first place. Even when the federal government believed that he needs to be deported (and so they’ve but to point out any good proof to assist that), most individuals in such conditions get a discover of when and the place to look earlier than an immigration decide — not grabbed from their residence in entrance of their pregnant spouse and whisked off to an unknown lockup for months.
And now we all know that the primary said purpose for his detention was bogus. It simply looks like the Trump regime is doing this out of spite and basic assholishness, somewhat than for any good purpose. Hopefully the immigration decide acknowledges that.
Filed Underneath: detention, doj, mahmoud khalil, marco rubio, state division
