The acting U.S. attorney in western Washington said his office would stop responding to many habeas petitions, leaving judges to rule on the filings.
By Catholics for Catholics
The upsurge in immigration-correlated habeas corpus cases has left federal prosecutors in the Western District of Washington without adequate resources to take action to each case, they said.
Charles Floyd, acting U.S. Attorney said in an Oct. 26 letter to Chief U.S. District Judge David Estudillo that the high volume of petitions from immigrants looking to contest the legality of their detention had strained federal prosecutors’ ability to react to other civil litigation. The letter was attached to a Nov. 7 order by U.S. District Judge Kymberly Evanson granting a habeas petition, according to a story by the Epoch Times.
“The large volumes of petitions that are being filed, often copying from other petitions, has severely impacted the government’s ability to respond to specific petitions that require appreciable attorney time from the USAO to investigate and analyze,” he wrote.
Floyd explained that entering appearances in each case often leads to “protracted litigation,” draining prosecutors’ considerable time even after a petitioner has been released or granted a bond hearing. He added that prosecutors are often obliged to file status reports, supplemental briefs, and responses to motions.
In addition, Floyd wrote that his office did not at this time have the resources to keep entering prosecutors’ appearances in every one of the dozens of immigration habeas petitions filed each week.
To safeguard resources, Floyd wrote, his office would no longer take care of defending Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and its employees in many habeas cases, though it would keep reviewing petitions and scheduling orders, forward the orders to ICE, and enter appearances and file responses where it deemed appropriate. He did not stipulate how many cases would be affected.
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