Immigration Roundup: Federal Judge Blocks Harvard Travel Ban, Crisis at Immigration Courts Leads to Lawsuit Stopping Fast Track Deportations

Harvard Travel Ban Blocked by Federal Judge

Earlier this month President Trump had signed an Executive Order suspending the entry of all nonimmigrants and exchange visitors attending Harvard University, for a period of 6 months starting June 4^th (the effective date of the proclamation).

Those affected by the executive order were F, J, and M visa holders outside of the United States as of the date of the proclamation. The suspension did not apply to nonimmigrants entering the United States to attend other universities.

Shortly after the executive order was issued, a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction, temporarily halting its enforcement until the court can rule on the merits of the case.

Following the court’s actions, the State Department ordered embassies and consulates around the world to resume visa processing for Harvard University students and exchange visitors.

As a result, Harvard students can breathe easier. While the preliminary injunction remains in effect, consulates are barred from denying visas to Harvard students and exchange visitors, and visa holders attending Harvard cannot be refused entry to the United States.

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Crisis at Immigration Courts

The Trump administration has sparked a constitutional crisis that has reverberated across immigration courts. A recently uncovered EOIR Justice Department memorandum that has been in place since May, quietly directs immigration judges to dismiss pending immigration cases to clear the way for the arrest and deportation of immigrants attending immigration court.

The memo instructs judges—who operate under the executive branch rather than the independent judiciary—to allow Department of Homeland Security attorneys to request dismissals of cases orally and approve them quickly, bypassing the standard 10-day response period traditionally granted to immigrants.

These actions open the door for immigrants to be placed in expedited removal proceedings without being given the opportunity to present their cases before an immigration judge for relief from deportation. The memo also notes that individuals placed in removal proceedings are “subject to mandatory detention,” which explains why many immigrants appearing in court are being taken into ICE custody the very same day.

When pressed by the media for comment on these practices, the Department of Justice declined to respond.

These policies raise significant due process concerns by undermining the basic rights guaranteed to individuals in immigration proceedings. By instructing judges to rapidly dismiss cases and deny immigrants the opportunity to respond or present their claims for relief, the government effectively strips them of a fair hearing.

Greg Chen, Director of Government Relations at the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), highlights that the memorandum misstates the statutory provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) that define when a case may be dismissed.

For instance, the law states that judges may grant motions to dismiss when “circumstances of the case have changed to such an extent that continuation is no longer in the best interest of the government,” but the memorandum deliberately omits the exact wording of the statute to avoid providing due process of law for individual cases.

ACLU Lawsuit Challenges Trump’s Fast-Track Deportations

These underhanded tactics have prompted the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to file a lawsuit against the government aimed at stopping fast-track deportations and the harmful policies that target immigrants for arrest at scheduled hearings, followed by rapid deportation without due process.

The case, Make the Road New York v. Noem, is currently set for a hearing where the judge will decide whether to grant a preliminary injunction to halt the government’s expedited deportations while the case is being litigated.

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