Immigration attorney weighs in on Trump’s deportations and court rulings against him

Amna Nawaz:

The Trump administration is moving quickly to increase its deportation numbers and further expand its restrictions on immigration.

Geoff Bennett:

But, in the past 24 hours, multiple federal judges have blocked President Trump's actions.

Our White House correspondent, Laura Barron-Lopez, has more.

Laura Barron-Lopez:

From reinstating a legal status program for some immigrants to ruling that the administration's effort to deport a Columbia University student is likely unconstitutional, federal judges are continuing to rule against the president on immigration matters.

Adding to that today, a Massachusetts federal judge extended her order blocking the Trump administration's efforts to bar Harvard from enrolling foreign students. The judge said people are terrified and that she wants to maintain the status quo.

Joining me now to discuss is Charles Kuck, an Atlanta-based immigration attorney and law professor at Emory University.

Charles, thank you so much for joining us.

I want to jump right in with that judge's order. It comes after Secretary of State Marco Rubio said last night that the U.S. will — quote — "aggressively revoke" visas of Chinese students, including those with ties to the Chinese Communist Party.

Here's State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce. Take a listen.

Tammy Bruce, State Department Spokesperson:

The State Department is determined to protect Americans' right to free speech and to counter the malign influence and actions of the Chinese Communist Party. The bottom line, we are using and will continue to use every tool in our tool chest to make sure that we know who it is who wants to come into this country and if they should be allowed to come in.

Laura Barron-Lopez:

How far can the administration go in revoking already approved visas?

Charles Kuck, Immigration Attorney:

Well, generally speaking, a visa can only be revoked for a specific reason that makes a person inadmissible to the United States.

We have seen the administration try to take this to the very edge of the law by revoking people's activity — visas based upon speech issues. What we're seeing here is quite interesting. It's as if they're saying we have never vetted the Chinese students before they came, when, in reality, the Chinese visas have been vetted very extensively for the last decade.

So it's really unusual at this point that they want to revoke visas for people they have already vetted. It's surprising and, frankly, a little disturbing.

Laura Barron-Lopez:

In other court cases this week, a New Jersey judge ruled that ISIS efforts to deport pro-Palestinian activists Mahmoud Khalil are likely unconstitutional. And a federal judge in Boston also ruled that the administration wrongly ended humanitarian parole for hundreds of thousands of immigrants living in the U.S. temporarily and ordered them to resume those application processes.

What could these decisions mean for hundreds of thousands of migrants seeking legal status?

Charles Kuck:

Well, for the latter part, it's really important for those individuals who were paroled into the United States who are now not subject to immediate deportation by ICE. I'm sure that frustrates the Trump administration.

At the same time, the court case in regards to Khalil is really, really important. This federal judge that ruled that that law is likely unconstitutional actually reflects the same decision made several decades ago by President Trump's own sister when she was an appellate court judge that said that that statute probably violates the First Amendment of the Constitution.

This is good news for immigrants as they continue to fight to remain in the United States, but neither really provide a direct path to legal residence for them.

Laura Barron-Lopez:

Despite judges repeatedly ruling against the president, the president's actions to deport more people, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller said last night that the administration wants to triple the number of arrests ICE agents are making on a daily basis.

Here's what he had to say.

Stephen Miller, White House Deputy Chief of Staff: Under President Trump's leadership, we are looking to set a goal of a minimum of 3,000 arrests for ICE every day, and President Trump is going to keep pushing to get that number up higher each and every single day, so we can get all of the Biden illegals that were flooded into our country for four years out of our country.

Laura Barron-Lopez:

The administration maintains that it is acting within its authority. Is it possible to arrest that many in a day? And what would it mean for due process?

Charles Kuck:

It's physically impossible for ICE to do that. They simply don't have the money or the agents or the bed space.

Tonight, the beds are full, the ICE has a lot of them paid for, about 47,000. I think what Miller is referring to is the fact that there's a bill pending in Congress to increase those beds to 100,000 a night. At the same time, every one of these individuals is due a day in court.

And, at this point, Trump's been losing immigration court judges, not gaining them. Court cases are currently being said for new detainees for 2028. So while Miller talks a big game, the reality is, they can't physically accomplish this. And even with more agents, I simply never see this happening.

Laura Barron-Lopez:

On the question of due process, the Trump administration told a judge yesterday that they are attempting to bring back a Guatemalan man they improperly deported to Mexico. What makes the case of this Guatemalan man different than Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was wrongly deported to El Salvador?

Charles Kuck:

There is no difference. I don't know why one is happening and one is not. Both were deprived of the right of having a day in court. It seems, though, that they have made a decision that Abrego is not somebody they're going to actually obey, whereas, the Guatemalan man, they are going to obey that order from the court.

They're going to have a really interesting time explaining to the judge in the Abrego case why they're not doing anything. It's very strange. And just keep in mind, administrations in the past have mistakenly deported people and have always brought them back according to court orders. They can do this if they want to.

Laura Barron-Lopez:

Well, that's related to another question, because, notably, there's been reporting about a number of children who either have been deported or are facing deportation.

We know that includes a 2-year-old United States citizen who has already been sent to Brazil with her parents. That's their country of origin. As well as a 4-year-old Mexican national who is in this country currently receiving lifesaving medical treatments and is in danger of being deported because of her parents. Her parents' legal status was revoked.

That 2-year-old is not the only U.S. citizen that's been deported, but the administration is claiming that they are doing this to keep families together. How often, how frequent is it that the U.S. deports U.S. citizens?

Charles Kuck:

It's highly unusual that the United States would deport a U.S. citizen. It has clearly happened in the past, by accident, usually.

But, for the most part, when they have a recognized U.S. citizen, they have longstanding provisions within the ICE rules to first verify that somebody is or is not a U.S. citizen before they deport them. What's happened here is the great rush to simply meet numbers because a goal was set and promises were made, without realizing the law itself prohibits them from deporting people at the levels they're asking at.

So, yes, we're going to see U.S. citizens deported continuously under the Trump administration until they are reined in by the courts and begin following the rules.

Laura Barron-Lopez:

Charles Kuck, thank you for your time.

Charles Kuck:

Great to be here. Thank you.