5/ Plaintiffs' counsel says that's bullshit & that at least one of the lead class plaintiffs got a "strange call" from their parents that they were informed by the government that their child was about to be deported. Those parents did NOT request their child's return.
6/ Also, plaintiffs' counsel argues that even if 6 USC 279 applies, it requires due process & a hearing before an immigration judge. (I have not yet researched this issue & cannot comment on the law.)
7/ Ensign, for DOJ, insists that this has been a "monthslong" process of identifying appropriate children that apparently just so happened to get finished in the middle of the night on a holiday weekend. Proposes that the fact situation be resolved by submitting affidavits.
8/ There's a pending request for provisional class certification because of the Supreme Court's idiotic ruling in Trump v. CASA restricting the scope of nationwide injunctions. So we don't know yet how broad any injunctive relief would be. But for now, these 600 kids, at least, can't be deported.
9/ Here's a link to that filing. More TK as we await the resumption of the hearing. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
10/ ...and on cue, the hearing resumes & Ensign says the kids will be deplaned and returned to the custody of DHS's Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) during the pendency of the TRO. Will file a status report later today confirming that.
11/ Judge Sooknanan takes the recess time to read the declarations attached to the TRO motions which are horrifying & she says "do not line up with what I'm hearing from the gov't." These kids express traumatic fear at being sent back to Guatemala. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
Trump and the Republicans are trying to get rid of a bunch of teenagers seeking asylum and to live with other family here!
12/ Judge Sooknanan says she will wait to see what the gov't briefs by Friday (at gov't request) but from what she saw it does not look like they're complying with the law. She reiterates that she tried to call the gov't in the middle of the night & could not reach anyone before entering the TRO.
13/ We'll continue to monitor the docket (again linked below) to see when DOJ files the status report that these kids have been returned to ORR custody and aren't stuck on the tarmac terrified for their lives. This administration's cruelty knows no bounds. www.courtlistener.com/docket/71240...
Who is the govt client? Presume this is Stephen Miller.