Ziglar v. Abbasi
involves three consolidated court cases filed by Muslim and Arab men who
had no legal status to be in the United States when authorities arrested
them following the September 11, 2001 attacks. These men claim that the
government violated their rights by detaining them under unreasonably
harsh conditions until cleared of any connection of terrorism, simply
due to their race and ethnicity. The focus of the lawsuits was to hold
senior government officials individually liable for their actions arising
from their roles in implementing immigration policies following a national
emergency. This type of relief is referred to as a “
Bivens” remedy, which is granted by courts only in certain situations –
when there was a violation of an individual’s constitutional rights.
The government argued that a
Bivens
remedy would be extraordinary if extended in the context of these cases.
Rather, Congress should be the governing body to determine whether a damages
remedy is available with respect to government officials in cases involving
national security. On the other hand, the lawyer for the immigrant detainees
maintained that it was unnecessary to extend
Bivens
in the context of these cases, since they do not involve any sensitive
national security judgments. The lawyer argued that it is necessary to
allow these lawsuits to proceed in order to deter excessive exercises
of government power. Some of the justices, however, pointed out that other
remedies may be available to the immigrant detainees, such as habeas corpus
actions in federal court or an action seeking an injunction to challenge
the constitutionality of the detention policy. Other justices expressed
doubt as to whether these potential remedies would be effective or even
realistically available to the immigrant detainees in this situation.
Meanwhile, attorneys for the wardens of the immigrant detention centers
where the immigrants were detained argued that the wardens should be immune
from suit, although a few of the justices did not appear receptive to
this argument. Contacting an
experienced California immigration attorney
as quickly as possible can be essential to combatting deportation proceedings
that the government has brought against you. Taking steps to resolve a
potential deportation problem from the outset is often much simpler than
waiting until the last minute and trying to fix the situation. Call
Landerholm Immigration, A.P.C., at (510) 756-4468, today, and learn what we can do to help you through
this situation.
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