A lawyer flagged a new standing order from the District of Maryland. It provides, in part:
ORDERED by the United States District Court for the District of Maryland that upon the filing of a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241 on behalf of an alien detainee, the Government/Respondents, including all those acting for them or on their behalf, are ENJOINED and RESTRAINED from removing Petitioners in such cases from the continental United States or altering their legal status, provided that Petitioner’s full name and A# have been provided to the Court, either in the Petition or in a separate sealed filing.
Am I reading this right? If a lawyer files a conforming habeas petition, an injunction is automatically entered blocking the removal of the alien. The merits are irrelevant. And this injunction applies to the government, writ large. Has anyone ever seen an order like this before?
This order is pretty clearly designed to thwart the Trump Administration’s immigration policies. I can’t imagine this order would remain in effect if a different President is in the White House.
