Seattle is among 20 cities and counties across the nation that have joined together in filing an amicus curiae or “friend of the court” brief with the U.S. Supreme Court, asking the Court to uphold important constitutional protections for immigrants held in prolonged mandatory immigration detention by the federal government.
The brief, authored by the County of Santa Clara, California and joined by a diverse group of local governments, was filed in Jennings v. Rodriguez. The brief supports the arguments of a group of immigrants who were ordered into immigration detention while awaiting deportation proceedings, often for months or years at a time, with no opportunity to be considered for release. The Supreme Court is reviewing a decision of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which held that immigrants in prolonged mandatory detention must be given a bond hearing every six months where an immigration judge can consider whether they can safely be released based on their individual facts and circumstances.
“Seattle was proud to support Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s legal challenge to President Trump’s executive order banning travel from seven predominantly Muslim countries, and we are just as proud to join with Santa Clara to make sure that when immigrants are arrested, that they have the same right to judicial hearings as citizens do,” City Attorney Pete Holmes said.
Counties and cities involved in the amicus brief argue that immigrants held in mandatory detention must be given the same basic constitutional protections granted by all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the federal government to every person who is arrested for a crime. These basic rights include a hearing where a judge can consider each individual for release based on his or her risk of flight and risk to public safety. Most immigrants do not present a significant flight risk or risk to public safety. When immigrants are not given the right to a bond hearing, many who could safely be released remain stuck in federal immigration detention facilities for months or years, costing billions in taxpayer dollars annually.
The amicus brief argues that holding immigrants in mandatory detention without bond hearings also harms their children and families, many of whom are U.S. citizens or lawful residents. Detention of an immigrant parent deprives families of the parent’s income and associated health benefits, and may lead to loss of housing and food insecurity. Children of detained parents often fall behind in school and suffer from psychological problems. The cities and counties filing the brief provide critical services to their local residents, and face increased and costly demands for social services when parents are detained, including foster care, health and mental health care, housing assistance, other public assistance, and law enforcement involvement.
The cities and counties that joined the County of Santa Clara include the County of Alameda, California; the City of Austin, Texas; the City of Baltimore, Maryland; the Town of Carrboro, North Carolina; the Town of Chapel Hill, North Carolina; the City of Chicago, Illinois; the City of Cincinnati, Ohio; the City and County of Denver, Colorado; the District of Columbia; King County, Washington; the City of Minneapolis, Minnesota; the City of Oakland, California; the City of Portland, Oregon; Salt Lake City, Utah; the City and County of San Francisco, California; the City of San Jose, California; the County of San Mateo, California; the City of Seattle, Washington; and the City of Tucson, Arizona.