A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by the Trump administration targeting all judges of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland over a standing order that automatically pauses deportations for illegal immigrants who file habeas corpus petitions.
The ruling reinforces judicial discretion and highlights the limits of executive action in immigration enforcement.
U.S. District Judge Thomas Cullen, a Trump appointee, emphasized the constitutional separation of powers in his decision.
“In their wisdom, the Constitution’s framers joined three coordinate branches to establish a single sovereign,” Cullen wrote. “Mediating disputes must occur in a manner that respects the Judiciary’s constitutional role.”
He concluded that pursuing the lawsuit would “run counter to overwhelming precedent, depart from longstanding constitutional tradition, and offend the rule of law.”
The lawsuit, brought in June by the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice (DOJ), challenged a standing order issued by Chief Judge George Russell.
The order automatically grants a two-day pause on deportations for any illegal immigrant filing a habeas petition, regardless of where the individual is detained.
The DOJ argued the practice interferes with executive authority and wastes time critical to implementing immigration policies.
“Every unlawful order entered by the