Weekly Spotlight: Writing rights away
How mass detention plays out in the courts
In July of last year, a memo revealed that the Trump administration was directing ICE to detain immigrants for the whole duration of their removal proceedings, which can last months or even years, without the chance of a bond hearing. Mandatory detention is blatantly illegal, violating the due process and habeas corpus rights of millions of people. A report from Politico explores the immense strain the memo has put on courts around the country, which have, in the year since, taken up thousands upon thousands of challenges to the practice. The lower courts have together delivered an “overwhelming rebuke” of mandatory detention. Due process is a constitutional right. No administration has the authority to write those rights away.
- The policy is likely to be considered by the Supreme Court soon. The justices must follow the example of the hundreds of judges who have ruled against it and end this large-scale lawlessness once and for all.
- Of over 20,500 rulings, judges backed ICE’s mandatory detention just 2,800 times. The nearly 18,000 rulings rejecting the policy have come from judges appointed by Republicans and Democrats alike.
- ANALYSIS What is Habeas Corpus? The Latin Phrase Designed to Ward Off Tyranny: Trump administration officials’ attempts to redefine or suspend “habeas corpus” threaten a foundational principle of free societies.
Inside ICE’s Broken System for Inspecting Detention Facilities
(Illustration: Luna Velez / POGO)
New data reveals a twisted ICE detention oversight system where facilities get glowing grades, even amid deadly conditions. By Isabel Del Mastro and POGO Investigates’ René Kladzyk. Read more on pogo.org/investigates.
- Our investigation has been covered by El Paso Matters, CalMatters, and in a segment on Telemundo Bakersfield.
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REPORTING BACK
Trump drags his feet on accountability — After a judge delivered a scathing order against the president’s lawyers for their conduct in the bogus Trump v. IRS case and the equally bogus government settlement of the case, the president is now attempting to delay accountability. As you already know, POGO submitted an amicus brief in the case earlier this year, alongside Common Cause and four former high-ranking government officials, highlighting the conflict of interest caused by the president being on both sides of the case.
The judge's recent decision penalized the president's lawyers, including by letting POGO and our co-amici file for appropriate legal fees for our work filing our brief. Now the president is appealing that decision and trying to pause the penalty.
Last week, we joined forces again to file a motion opposing the attempt to delay. Trump owes the public and the justice system accountability for the time and resources he wasted with this sham lawsuit. We will make sure you get it.
Trouble at the Census Bureau
(Illustration: Ren Velez / POGO)
In the latest of a long string of attempts to stoke fear about election integrity ahead of the midterms, the Census Bureau has issued a “Beginning Analysis” examining voting and citizenship records. The bureau concludes in the brief that tens of thousands noncitizens voted in the 2020 elections. It remains unclear who requested the work from the Census Bureau, who at the bureau did the work, how exactly the analysis was conducted, or the reliability of the initial conclusions. The issue of noncitizen voting has been taken up many, many times before — including by the first Trump administration — and many, many times, we have arrived at no evidence of widespread noncitizen voter fraud. The Census Bureau should not be abused for political theater.
- What the Census Bureau should focus on instead: An accurate count of every person in the country, regardless of citizenship status.
- DOGE’s attempts to access a wide range of sensitive data held by the government raised privacy concerns.
