A federal judge in New Jersey warned he would order federal prosecutors to answer questions under oath if they continued to seek arrests and detentions under a portion of the federal code already rejected in hundreds of cases.
In a brief opinion issued Thursday that ordered the release of an El Salvadorian immigrant detained by federal authorities, U.S. District Judge Zahid Quraishi said federal authorities’ continued reliance on the statute bespeaks intentional disregard for the law and courts.
This is intentional. “The government” is testing the limits to which the law will hold them.
“The government’s continued reliance on the statute, violations of dozens of court orders, and its repeated transfers of immigration detainees in violation of those orders had also harmed credibility of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, he said.”