A federal judge has blasted the Trump administration for transferring ten immigrant detainees to out of state jails from an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center in Contra Costa County in August, with the decision slammed as ‘troubling’ and ‘dangerous.’
Last week, US District Court Judge, Edward J Davila dismissed a request to have the detainees sent back to Richmond’s West County Detention Facility by several pro bono attorneys as it was outside the court’s jurisdiction. But, that did not stop him from criticizing the US government for performing the transfer. Davila called the transfer ‘inexplicable’ and said that the silence from Immigration and Customs Enforcement over its flagrant action was deafening.
Earlier this month, the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office, East Palo Alto’s Community Legal Services, and Pangea Legal Services filed petitions in federal court, claiming that the transfers disrupted immigration hearings already scheduled in San Francisco. As of Wednesday (September 5th, 2018) was unclear whether the attorneys intended to file their petition again in a different court following Davila’s decision.
Court documents say that ICE must perform a systematic and thorough review of the case of every detainee and that they are prohibited from transferring individuals if the review shows an attorney or immediate family members is in the area, if they have a scheduled or a granted bond hearing, or if deportation proceedings are pending. ICE claims the transfers were routine.