A federal judge in Massachusetts has further restricted the Trump administration’s ability to deport illegal immigrants from Guantanamo Bay without due process, issuing an amended preliminary injunction that expands protections for noncitizens held at the U.S. naval base.
The April 30 order from U.S. District Judge Brian E. Murphy modifies a previous injunction issued April 18, clarifying that no removals from Guantanamo Bay to third countries may proceed unless detainees are first given an opportunity to raise claims of potential persecution or torture.
The modification comes after government attorneys said during an April 28 hearing that recent deportations from Guantanamo were carried out by the Department of Defense without direction or knowledge from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). While Murphy did not resolve the accuracy of that claim, he stated that “in an abundance of caution,” any such removals must comply with the protections outlined in his earlier ruling….