Multiple policies set by the President Trump’s administration last year required all immigrants who entered the U.S. without inspection to be detained – without the chance to be released while their cases moved forward. That process can take months or even years.
These policies violated due process, said Sadmira Ramic, ACLU of Nevada senior attorney.
“You’re talking about people who have lived here for decades and have had no significant impact in terms of their criminal history, forced to spend time in prison, while the civil case, their immigration case, proceeds,” Ramic said. “It can break people down. It can force them to just want to give up and say, ‘I want to be deported.’”
The ruling last week allows detained immigrants in Nevada to request a bond hearing and return home while their cases are decided. Ramic said that’s already been successful for the two people the ACLU is representing: a DACA recipient and an immigrant who was a victim of a crime.
The next steps include notifying eligible immigrants of their right to a bond hearing and making sure the ruling is implemented statewide.
Several other states have similar ongoing litigation.
