Trump-appointed judge condemns ICE for falsifying records and misidentifying detainees
Judge Gary Brown sharply criticized ICE for arresting two individuals, including a U.S. citizen, and then fabricating misidentification claims.
Judge Gary Brown, a Trump appointee, issued a scathing rebuke of ICE after the agency arrested two individuals—one of whom was a U.S. citizen—while claiming they were undocumented. Brown asserted that ICE agents fabricated official documents to support the arrests, describing the practice as "unimaginable cruelty." He noted that many civil habeas petitions reveal a recurring problem of detainees being misidentified as targets based on vague physical descriptions.
The decision echoes Brown's prior criticism of ICE's detention of Hester Asaf Garcia Lanza, a lawful resident with Special Immigrant Juvenile status, whose removal proceedings were contested. Brown's remarks align with a broader trend of Trump-appointed judges, including Timothy Reif and several district judges, ruling against the administration in high-profile cases. The judge concluded that such actions violate basic human decency. This case underscores ongoing judicial scrutiny of immigration enforcement tactics.
Why it matters
It highlights judicial checks on ICE's enforcement methods and raises concerns about due process for detainees.
How this story developed
- Aug 13 San Antonio immigrants live in constant fear as ICE arrests surge
- Sep 1 ICE carried out a raid in Memphis that arrested more than 100 people, the largest raid in the city’s history.
- Sep 11 A judge dismissed the deportation case against the Andhra Pradesh woman, yet ICE continued to require her reporting.
- Sep 17 ICE agent Christian Castro turned himself in to Minnesota authorities on a warrant for assault after shooting a Venezuelan man, and faces both state and federal charges.
- Sep 18 Castro entered a not‑guilty plea to the federal false‑statement charges.
- Sep 20 A man was wounded after being shot by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in North Austin, Texas, and taken to a local hospital.
- Sep 27 A federal judge scheduled a personal appearance for the man on September 30 and issued a temporary order halting his deportation.
- Sep 29 The U.S. Supreme Court granted the Justice Department’s emergency request, letting the Trump administration continue deporting migrants to third countries while the policy’s legality is examined.
- Sep 30 Supreme Court issued an emergency order allowing third‑country deportations to continue.
- Sep 30 An immigration judge ruled that Salah Sarsour, head of Wisconsin’s largest mosque, can be deported on national-security grounds despite his claim that the case targets his Palestinian-rights advocacy.
- Sep 30 The Justice Department lodged complaints with the 8th Circuit alleging that Minnesota federal judges made partisan statements about a Trump-era deportation surge.
- Oct 1 A federal indictment charging Garces Perez with assault was filed.
- Oct 3 The filing requests that the judges be barred from hearing Department of Homeland Security cases.
- Oct 3 A Chicago immigration judge allowed a possible deportation of Salah Sarsour.
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