WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Tuesday dismissed an unusual Trump administration lawsuit against every federal judge in Maryland over a standing order that limits the government’s ability to quickly deport immigrants.
U.S. District Judge Thomas Cullen, who normally sits in Virginia but was assigned the case because the Maryland judges could not participate, wrote in the ruling that suing the judges was not the correct avenue by which to challenge the order.
At issue was a standing order issued by Chief Judge George Russell on May 21 and updated a week later that described how federal judges in Maryland should handle cases involving immigrants facing imminent risk of deportation. The order imposes a temporary stay of deportation for two business days while a case is considered.
The Justice Department sued, saying Russell had no authority to issue such a blanket order that effectively acts as a broad injunction against government actions without any assessment of whether the individual immigrants have valid cases.
But Cullen, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, concluded that the administration would have to find another way to challenge the order instead of taking the unusual and confrontational approach of suing the judges directly.
“Much as the Executive fights the characterization, a lawsuit by the executive branch of government against the judicial branch for the exercise of judicial power is not ordinary," he wrote.
"Whatever the merits of its grievance with the judges of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, the Executive must find a proper way to raise those concerns,” he added.
Russell issued the order amid a flurry of Trump administration actions seeking to expedite deportations, sometimes without people being given the opportunity to challenge the decision.
One of the highest-profile cases in the country, involving a Salvadoran man, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who the government says was wrongly deported back to his native country, arose in Maryland.
Cullen wrote in Tuesday's ruling that, among other things, the administration lacked legal standing to sue and the judges are immune from such a lawsuit.
He did not address the substantive question of whether Russell had authority to issue the standing order.
The ruling is in line with comments Cullen made when he heard a hearing in the case in Baltimore on Aug. 13.
The Justice Department and a lawyer representing the judges had no immediate statement on the ruling.
The government indicated in a court filing that it would appeal the decision.
The dispute is the latest clash between the Trump administration and the judiciary, with administration officials harshly criticizing judges who rule against Trump's policies.
Cullen referred to some of those comments in a footnote that took issue with the administration's rhetoric.
"Although some tension between the coordinate branches of government is a hallmark of our constitutional system, this concerted effort by the Executive to smear and impugn individual judges who rule against it is both unprecedented and unfortunate," he wrote.
