Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks in Quito, Ecuador in July 2025. (Getty Images/Alex Brandon)
The policy, known as a standing order, requires court clerks in Maryland to automatically enter administrative pauses that last two business days in cases brought by alleged illegal immigrants who are challenging their detentions or removals. The injunctions have the effect of temporarily barring the Department of Homeland Security from deporting or changing the legal status of an immigrant until a judge has time to review the case.
Chief Judge George Russell, who issued the standing order, noted in it that the policy change was necessary to help the court briefly maintain the status quo in deportation cases until a judge could examine them. Russell cited an influx of immigration lawsuits brought in the court, including on weekends and holidays.
Government attorneys argued on behalf of the DHS that the order encroached on the department's authority over immigration policy and that a "sense of frustration and a desire for greater convenience do not give Defendants license to flout the law." They said that the court does not have authority to automatically interfere with all deportation proceedings brought before it and to briefly put a hold on them.
TRUMP DHS SUES ENTIRE BENCH OF FEDERAL JUDGES IN MARYLAND OVER AUTOMATIC INJUNCTIONS
ICE agents placed an immediate detainer on the suspect to prevent him from being released back into the community, according to DHS. (Getty Images)
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"Although some tension between the coordinate branches of government is a hallmark of our constitutional system, this concerted effort by the Executive to smear and impugn individual judges who rule against it is both unprecedented and unfortunate," Cullen said.
The Trump administration quickly appealed Cullen's decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
Ashley Oliver is a reporter for Fox News Digital and FOX Business, covering the Justice Department and legal affairs. Email story tips to ashley.oliver@fox.com.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-appointed-judge-tosses-dhs-lawsuit-against-maryland-federal-bench-over-courts-deportation-policy