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Judge Paula Xinis (D. Ma.) today ordered the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to release Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s from ICE custody “immediately.” Judge Xinis determined that DHS has no lawful authority to detain or remove him because no final order of removal exists and wrote that the department’s “conduct over the past months belie that his detention has been for the basic purpose of effectuating removal, lending further support that Abrego Garcia should be held no longer.” (Memorandum opinion.) (WaPo.)
Judge Charles R. Breyer (N.D. Ca.) on Wednesday enjoined the Trump administration from continuing its federalization of the California National Guard in Los Angeles and ordered that control of the Guard be returned to Gov. Gavin Newsom. He stayed the injunction until noon on Monday. (Order.) The Trump administration plans to appeal. (WSJ.)
Judge Edward Chen (N.D. Ca.) granted the National TPS Alliance’s motion for declaratory relief, ruling that the Trump administration’s vacatur of Venezuela’s Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation and termination of the designation in February 2025 were unlawful. Judge Chen stayed the order for two weeks to allow the government to seek relief from the Ninth Circuit. (Order.)
Judge Jamal Whitehead (W.D. Wash.) denied the government’s motion to stay discovery pending a full opinion from the Ninth Circuit in litigation challenging President Trump’s Executive Order 14163, “Realigning the United States Refugee Admissions Program.” Judge Whitehead wrote that delaying discovery would harm the plaintiffs—a group of refugees and related organizations—and that the Ninth Circuit’s partial stay of the preliminary injunction does not resolve the merits. (Order.)
Judge Ann Aiken (D. Or.) granted a 14-day temporary restraining order blocking enforcement of the Department of Homeland Security’s new “loud or unusual noise” rule, 6 C.F.R. § 139.35(c), on the public sidewalks surrounding a federal building in Eugene, Oregon. (Opinion and order.) The suit arises from arrests and threats of arrest under a newly expanded noise rule outside an ICE detention facility in Eugene, where agents confronted two protesters who had used megaphones and yelled. (NYT.)
The Justice Department asked Judge James Boasberg (D.D.C.) to reconsider his order requiring two DOJ attorneys to testify in the court’s criminal-contempt inquiry into the Mar. 15 detainee transfers. The DOJ argued that the court cannot conduct its own factual investigation into potential contempt and, alternatively, sought a protective order limiting any questioning and barring disclosure of privileged information. (Motion.) See a previous Roundup for background. Bill Shipley analyzed the call for testimony and predicted that ultimately, Judge Boasberg “will determine he cannot establish by the necessary standard of proof that Sec. Noem willfully violated the March 15 TRO, and further contempt proceedings cannot be justified.” (Shipwreckedcrew.)
Judge Richard M. Berman (S.D.N.Y.) on Wednesday granted the government’s motion to release grand jury materials and other evidentiary files related to Jeffrey Epstein by Dec. 19. (Decision and order.) (WaPo.)
Judge Emil Bove, who was confirmed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in July, attended a political event in Pennsylvania where President Trump delivered remarks on Tuesday. (Bloomberg Law.) On Wednesday, the Executive Director of the advocacy group Fix the Court filed an ethics complaint with the chief judge of the Third Circuit claiming that Judge Bove’s attendance violated the Code of Conduct for U.S. Judges. (Complaint.) (NYT.)
President Trump announced on Wednesday that the United States had seized “a very large tanker” off the coast of Venezuela, which sources told the Times had been carrying Venezuelan oil. (NYT.)
The Trump administration is reportedly weighing two draft executive orders, published by the National Review, which would establish a national AI regulatory standard focused on “human flourishing” and challenge state laws requiring AI systems to incorporate diversity, equity, and inclusion principles. (National Review.)
Customs and Border Protection has proposed a new rule that would require foreign visitors using the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) to submit five years of social-media history as part of the ESTA process. Additional proposed data fields include past business emails and family contacts. (WSJ.)
The Trump administration on Wednesday launched applications for a new “gold card” visa, which grants expedited U.S. permanent residency to individuals who pay a $15,000 processing fee and a $1 million “gift” after vetting. (Website.) (NYT.)
Bob Bauer examined how the Supreme Court’s campaign finance case—centered on decades-old coordination rules—takes on new significance in an era of polarization and presidential weaponization. (Executive Functions.) Stephen L. Carter argued the Court seems poised to invalidate limits on coordinated party-candidate spending, and said that doing so would mainly streamline campaign finance rules rather than unleash new corruption. (Bloomberg Law.)
Chris Geidner reported that the Justice Department is continuing to “slow-walk” its appeals in the litigation over Trump’s executive orders targeting major law firms, “never seeking stays pending appeal as the Trump administration has done in so many cases this year.” (Law Dork.)