CADMAN PLAZA EAST — A Brooklyn federal judge on Thursday extended a halt to deportations of refugees and green card holders under President Donald Trump's executive order.
Judge Carol Bagley Amon ordered the current stay, which applied to refugees and green card holders from seven predominantly Muslim countries, to end on Feb. 21, to allow lawyers for detainees and the government to file motions in the case. The previous order was slated to end on Feb. 14.
Lawyers with the U.S. Attorney's office in Brooklyn said they intended to ask the judge to dismiss the case because there are no longer any more travelers detained under the government's ban.
The original halt on Trump's ban came in response to a writ of habeas corpus demanding the release of two Iraqi men, who both worked helping the American military in Baghdad, who had been detained at JFK Airport the same day the executive order was signed.
News of the detention led to protests across the country and withering criticism of both the order and the way it was executed.
The president defended his order, saying that only 109 people had been detained under it. He added that he signed the order to curb anti-American terrorists, like the 9/11 attackers, from entering the country.
Only 109 people out of 325,000 were detained and held for questioning. Big problems at airports were caused by Delta computer outage,.....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 30, 2017
Under his order, travelers with valid visas from Iran, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen, will be subject to "extreme vetting," according to the president's tweets.
None of the 9/11 terrorists were from the countries that are included in the ban.
On Thursday, the judge ruled at an afternoon hearing that the stay on deportations would remain in place until Feb. 21.
Judge Donnelly Order by DNAinfoNewYork on Scribd
The American Civil Liberties Union, which filed the writ, also asked the case be granted class action status to determine the constitutionality of the presidential edict.
Lee Gelernt, a lawyer with the ACLU, asked the judge to order the government to release a list of names of the people who had been detained or deported so they can be contacted to join the class action suit as well.
Motion for Class Certification by DNAinfoNewYork on Scribd
Lawyers with the Brooklyn U.S. Attorney's office said since no one was being held in detention in New York any longer, there was no need for a list.
Earlier in the day, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman filed a request to join the ACLU's suit against the federal government, saying that it infringed on the rights of New Yorkers, threatened public health by restricting travel for foreign-born doctors and was detrimental to the state's economy.
