Friday, April 24, 2020

Judge Goodman continues great work on COVID-19 jurisprudence

Judge Goodman puts ICE's feet to the fire in this report and recommendation to Judge Cooke.  The Miami Herald covers it here:

A Miami federal magistrate judge recommended Wednesday that U.S immigration officials “substantially” reduce detainee populations at three South Florida detention centers as COVID-19 positive cases continue to climb behind bars.

In his 69-page recommendation — which still needs to be reviewed by U.S. District Judge Marcia G. Cooke — Magistrate Judge Jonathan Goodman said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement should be required to prove that it is accelerating the release process for non-criminal detainees in an effort to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Those who qualify for release would be subject to detention alternatives like parole, telephone monitoring, physical check-ins or GPS monitoring through an electronic ankle bracelet.

Goodman stopped short of recommending that roughly 1,200 detainees be released from the Krome Processing Center in Miami-Dade and Broward Transitional Center in Pompano Beach and the Glades County detention center in Moore Haven. A lawsuit filed by immigration advocates sought an order for ICE to release as many as 90 percent of the detainees in the three facitilies. Goodman said the court does not have the authority to issue such an order.

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“To eliminate any confusion, this [report] does not technically require ICE to actually release anyone. It requires ICE to only conduct its own, internal review in a good faith effort to cause the release of a substantial number of detainees,” Goodman added. “Thus, ICE would not be violating an order if it refused or otherwise failed to release detainees at the three centers. That hypothetical result would be horribly disappointing and extremely distressing, and it would undermine the spirit of this [order].”


Goodman said that “to encourage ICE to be reasonable and to help the court evaluate whether ICE is acting in good faith,” the agency should be required to also submit twice-weekly reports on how many of its detainees — and at which of the three centers — have no prior criminal convictions and no pending criminal charges, as well as those with criminal histories.

Goodman’s recommendation, filed in response to a lawsuit filed by immigration advocates last week seeking the immediate release of 90 percent of the detainees at the three South Florida centers, says the order he’s recommending would require ICE to immediately “make all efforts to reduce the population to 75 percent of capacity at each of the three detention centers” within two weeks, a “percentage sufficient to permit social distancing.”

Read more here: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/immigration/article242206461.html#storylink=cpy

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think the white liberal lawyers that frequent this blog should take some of these individuals into their homes. Kind of the way these lawyers act once their clients get put away – not my problem anymore.

Bonnie Smerdon said...

Not a liberal but a fact you might not know-they need a sponsor before they are released. Family or friends who are always willing to take them in if we can get them released. Many already have homes they were plucked out of to be put into detention. #smartenup

Anonymous said...

Damn. A first, non-anonymous beat down on the blog. Good on ya Bonnie!

Reggie Smith said...

I am not white neither liberal, but a lawyer who believes in the constitutional laws of this country.

Anonymous said...

Do we really need a 69 page order? It could have been done in 10-15 pages. I think some robe wearers believe the more pages they can write, the more intelligent they will be viewed.

Anonymous said...

Rumpole intruding on federal stuff. When your neighbor builds his driveway on your property line you can't let it go without a fight.

Anonymous said...

Many already have homes they were “plucked out of.....” .nope, not a liberal here.