Trump administration blasted by judge for 'unlawful' detention policy
(FOX 9)
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - In a recent ruling, United States District Court Judge Laura Provinzino blasted the government’s continued reliance on a mandatory-detention policy for some noncitizens swept up as part of a surge in immigration raids across the state. Judge Provinzino cleared the way for the release of Roberto Mata Fuentes, a father of three with no criminal record, who has been in the country for more than 20 years.
Man detained for nearly 2 months
What we know:
U.S. District Court Judge Laura Provinzino ordered DHS to immediately provide a bond hearing or release a man who had been detained for nearly two months.
Roberto Mata Fuentes was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials on his way to work on Oct. 30 and subsequently detained inside the Sherburne County Jail for 50 days.
"It is really awful there. It is really ugly there," Mata Fuentes said through the translation of his immigration attorney. "They treated me like a criminal and I had done nothing wrong."
DHS held Mata Fuentes behind bars, arguing that, under a recent policy change, he was subject to "mandatory detention" and not eligible for bond in immigration court during deportation proceedings.
The judge stated hundreds of federal judges all across the country have already ruled that the administration’s mandatory-detention policy is illegal.
"The government has now been told nearly 300 times (and counting) that its mandatory-detention scheme is unlawful," wrote Judge Provinzino. "Yet as this case illustrates, the government has not taken ‘no’ for an answer."
An immigration court judge subsequently granted Mata Fuentes a bond amount of $3,500 earlier this month, allowing him to handle his immigration proceedings while free from detention.
Released just in time for Christmas
The backstory:
Mata Fuentes is a Mexican national who entered the United States without documentation more than 20 years ago.
According to court filings, Mata Fuentes has remained law-abiding while living in Minnesota. He is married and the father of three American-born children.
Mata Fuentes has taken steps to legalize his immigration status and is a candidate for a U visa, available to certain crime victims in this country who assist law enforcement. He currently has a work permit.
He posted the bond last week and was released after 50 days in custody, telling the FOX 9 Investigators he is relieved to be home in time for Christmas.
"We are still going to be really happy because we are here together and we are going to be together," said Mata Fuentes through translation, explaining that because of the financial and emotional strain of his arrest and detention, there will be no tree or gifts for his family.
He added that he was behind bars for his 48th birthday and 27th wedding anniversary.
"Unlawful detention is a prime example of irreparable harm," Judge Provinzino wrote in her order.
"That irreparable harm is magnified by the fact that Mata Fuentes has been separated from his wife and three children; to be unlawfully separated from one’s family is to have life’s most essential bond severed, leaving an injury that may well never be fully healed."
‘I trust our federal courts’
Dig deeper:
This isn’t the first time Minnesota district court judges have ruled against the Trump administration in its immigration enforcement efforts.
Earlier this year, the FOX 9 Investigators exposed a series of court defeats for DHS in targeting international students. In total, nearly a dozen international students were granted relief after they were detained by ICE or had their student immigration status revoked.
In those cases, federal judges found the Trump administration submitted "no evidence" in several cases, targeted students for their expression of free speech, and accused the government of violating the law in using the immigration system to punish students.
DHS is now accused of repeatedly violating the law by denying bond hearings to people recently detained as part of the surge in immigration raids across Minnesota.
Neither DHS nor its legal counsel at the U.S. Attorney’s Office responded to FOX 9’s request for comment before publication of this report.
"I don't know if the government will back down," responded Contreras Edin, the immigration attorney. "But I do know that I trust our federal courts, I trust the Constitution, and I trust due process. And while we have that, we will always be able to get Mr. Matos-Fuentes’ out of custody."