Court Limits Mandatory Detention of Immigrants in California
Source: nyt/reuters
U.S. immigration authorities cannot detain without a bail hearing California immigrants who have been convicted of certain crimes unless the immigrants are transferred to their custody directly from jail, a judge has ruled.
Under federal law, immigrants who commit crimes including drug offenses and assault can be deported, even if they are in the country legally.
The class-action lawsuit is challenging an element of the practice of mandatory detention, under which prisoners are not given an opportunity to argue before a judge that they should be released or allowed to post bond while fighting deportation.
Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers wrote in an opinion released Thursday that unless the immigrants are transferred directly from jail or prison, they must be allowed such a hearing to see whether they should be held by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or allowed to live in the community.
Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2014/05/16/us/16reuters-usa-courts-immigration.html?hp
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