Federal Judge Questions Legality of Deportations to Ghana
A federal judge, Tanya S. Chutkan, has criticized the Trump administration over its deportation practices, alleging a potential scheme to circumvent court-ordered protections for migrants fearing persecution in their home countries, particularly Nigeria and Gambia. The judge raised concerns about sending migrants to Ghana as a transit point before potential relocation to countries where they face danger.
Court Proceedings and Concerns
During an emergency hearing, Judge Chutkan expressed reluctance to immediately order the return of five deported migrants, but directed the government to provide a sworn statement detailing efforts to prevent their deportation to their home countries. She noted that repatriating the migrants would violate protections previously granted by immigration judges in the United States.
Despite appearing skeptical of the government's arguments, Judge Chutkan acknowledged potential limitations on her power, citing recent legal victories for the Trump administration's deportation policies and expressing doubt that a ruling in the migrants’ favor would survive an appeal. She stated that her “hands may be tied.”
Allegations of Circumventing Court Orders
Judge Chutkan suggested that the Trump administration was making “an end run around” US court orders by sending the immigrants to Ghana, which was then poised to relocate them to countries where they could face torture or death. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) informed the court that one of the plaintiffs had already been deported from Ghana to his native Gambia, a country from which a US court had previously barred his deportation.
Elianis Perez of the Department of Justice argued that the court lacked the authority to control the actions of another country, even though Ghana had initially pledged to comply with restrictions. She cited a Supreme Court ruling that allowed the administration to send immigrants to countries other than their own, even if they hadn't had a chance to raise fears of torture.
Legal Arguments and Precedents
The ACLU's Lee Gelernt compared the case to that of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador and later returned to the US after court intervention. He argued that the court could order the government to "facilitate" the return of the migrants or at least ask Ghana to not move them on to their home countries. He also stressed the urgency of the matter, as some of the individuals could be moved as soon as Monday.
Judge Chutkan questioned the government's apparent awareness of Ghana's plans, stating, "This flies in the face of your representation to me that the government received assurances from the Ghanaian government that they wouldn't do exactly what they're doing." She ultimately ordered the administration to file a declaration detailing its efforts to ensure the immigrants weren't improperly sent to their home countries from Ghana.
