A federal judge in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday took aim at the Trump administration’s coronavirus border restriction by extending an order temporarily blocking the Trump administration from deporting a migrant child to Honduras, CBS News reports.
Judge Carl Nichols ruled that the U.S. government is prohibited from expelling the 16-year-old boy who was apprehended on June 4. The American Civil Liberties Union sued the U.S. government on behalf of the child and his father.
"The court, in addition, does not believe that the CDC director is likely entitled to the Chevron deference" to exclude migrants already in the country, Nichols said.
Additionally, Nichols said the child did not have COVID-19.
"At this point, he [has been] apprehended well more than 15 days ago. So to the extent he may have had COVID-19, any potential harm would have occurred already from his presence in the United States," Nichols reasoned. "And more generally, while the court understands that the government has an interest in administering, in the immigration context, the system and the rules relevant to reducing transmissions of COVID-19, the court concludes in the context of this matter that the balance of harm tips in the plaintiff's favor in light of the showing he has made under seal."
Lee Gelernt, the top ACLU attorney in the case, called the ruling important “because it went to the heart of the administration's claim that it can do an end-run around the immigration laws and simply expel people, including children, without any process.”
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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