US federal judge criticizes Trump administration over immigration enforcement

By Gizem Nisa Demir

ISTANBUL (AA) - A US federal judge delivered a withering rebuke of the Trump administration, accusing it of spreading “terror” against immigrants and flouting court orders in its enforcement actions.

In a decision issued late Wednesday, US District Judge Sunshine Sykes said the threats posed by the executive branch “cannot be viewed in isolation” and faulted Department of Homeland Security officials for denying detained migrants bond hearings despite her earlier rulings.

She ordered the department to notify eligible detainees of their bond rights and to ensure access to counsel within an hour.

“Beyond its terror against noncitizens, the executive branch has extended its violence on its own citizens,” Sykes wrote, citing the deaths of two US citizens, Renée Good and Alex Pretti, in Minnesota during federal immigration operations.

A Homeland Security statement said the US Supreme Court has “repeatedly overruled” lower courts on issues related to mandatory detention and that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) “has the law and the facts on its side.”