Judge orders release for immigrant with leukemia facing deportation

A michigan A man facing possible deportation while dealing with life-threatening leukemia should be released from custody or at least attend a bail hearing in immigration court, a judge said.

This is a victory for Jose Contreras-Cervantes and the seven other plaintiffs he represents. American Civil Liberties Union Of Michigan. If released on bond from Immigration and Customs Enforcement After detention, they can return to their families while their cases proceed in immigration court.

trump The administration has refused bond hearings for immigrants who entered the US illegally, even if they have no criminal record. This policy is a reversal of previous practices and has been successfully challenged, including most recently in Washington State.

Under federal law, U.S. District Judge Brandi McMillian said, “Without evaluating each petitioner’s risk of flight or dangerousness, their detention is a violation of the due process rights afforded them.” detroit Said on Friday.

The judge ordered a bond hearing within seven days and wants a written update on October 27.

In response to the petition, the US Justice Department defended the policy and also said that the case should have been filed not in federal court, but in the Board of Immigration Appeals. It was not immediately clear whether the department would appeal.

Contreras-Cervantes, 33, was diagnosed last year with chronic myeloid leukemia, a life-threatening cancer of the bone marrow, and was told he only had four to six years to live, said his wife Lupita Contreras, a U.S. citizen.

The native of Jalisco, Mexico, has lived in the US for about 20 years, but not legally. Contreras-Cervantes was arrested on August 5 during a traffic stop in suburban Detroit.

His wife said he was flown from Michigan to Ohio and then back to Michigan and did not receive his medication for 22 days.

He is now receiving alternative medication at the North Lake Processing Center, a privately run detention center in Baldwin, Michigan, said ACLU attorney Miriam Aukerman.