The Trump administration faced two significant legal defeats on Friday, as federal judges in California and Rhode Island issued rulings against key policies backed by the White House.
In California, U.S. District Judge Jennifer Thurston ordered the release of Salam Maklad, a Syrian national the administration sought to deport.
Maklad, a member of the Druze religious minority, arrived in the United States in 2002 without valid entry documents and later claimed asylum. Her legal team argued she is eligible for legal immigration status due to her marriage to a man granted asylum.
Maklad was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on July 9 during what she believed was a routine check-in.
The court found she has no criminal record and is not a flight risk.
Judge Thurston wrote that “the balance of the equities and public interest weigh in favor of Ms. Maklad” and permanently barred authorities from rearresting her without proper constitutional safeguards, including pre-deprivation notice and a timely bond hearing.
Meanwhile, in Rhode Island, Senior District Judge William Smith blocked the Trump administration from imposing new conditions on federal funding for domestic violence programs.
The restrictions were part of an executive order aimed at combating what the