A federal lawsuit, challenging the policy of targeting immigrants attempting to gain legal status in the US after marrying Americans for deportation is to move forward, despite attempts by the Trump administration to have the case dismissed.
On Thursday, Judge Mark Wolf dismissed the bid by the federal government to have the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts’ lawsuit dismissed, and said that immigration officials cannot deport immigrants given a final order of removal from the US in the event that those immigrants are seeking a waiver allowing them to stay while they attempt to gain legal residency.
The American Civil Liberties Union claims federal officials are ignoring regulations that enable certain spouses of those who already possess US citizenship to stay in the US with their families as they attempt to gain legal status. The case was brought on behalf of Guatemalan native, Lillian Calderon, who lives in Providence, as well as other immigrants in similar situations, arrested after attending an interview with US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
Wolf also rejected the argument made by government officials that the court lacks the jurisdiction to hear the case in the first place because of the involvement of a USCIS discretionary decision on the granting of a provisional unlawful presence waiver to an undocumented immigrant with a final deportation order. He claimed that under federal law, the decision was outside the authority of the court.