Peter L. Murray is a Maine attorney and a member of Maine Lawyers for the Rule of
Law. He lives in Portland.

In this time of tension and turmoil, when the rule of law is being so often distorted, denied and disregarded at the highest levels, courts and lawyers in Massachusetts, Maine and other states are keeping it alive.

Recently, a plea appeared on a Maine Bar Association immigration defense mailing list.

A Massachusetts immigration lawyer needed a local Maine lawyer to file in the federal court in Portland a petition for a writ of habeas corpus on behalf of an immigrant from Brazil, let’s call her “VBR,” then detained at the Cumberland County Jail.

VBR had been living in Massachusetts. She and her American partner were parents of a 3-year old daughter. She had been picked up by ICE in Lowell, Massachusetts, a few days beforehand and had been moved to Maine before her immigration lawyer was able to obtain her release. She was being detained in jail without opportunity for bond pending an eventual deportation proceeding that could be a year or two away.

His call of aid was answered. On Tuesday morning, Nov. 6, a Portland, Maine lawyer filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in the U.S. District Court. The writ of habeas corpus is a pillar of our freedom that came from England. It entitles any person who is detained by government authority to petition a court to determine the legality of her confinement.

On receiving a legally sufficient petition, the court orders the government to “show cause” why the person is being detained. If the cause is legally or factually insufficient, the court can order release.

In this case, the federal court acted with dispatch. By Wednesday afternoon, Nov. 7, a U.S. District Court judge had issued an Order to Show Cause requiring the government to file by Friday, Nov. 9, a response giving the grounds for VBR’s detention.

The government complied, stating that a recent decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals permitted ICE to hold in indefinite detention even those immigrants who had originally entered the U. S. several years ago and had remained here under a statute guaranteeing them opportunity to post bond.

Posting bond in an immigration proceeding is like posting bail in a criminal case. The detained immigrant can secure her release pending further proceedings in her case by paying into court a sum of money to guarantee that she will appear in court when summoned.

The petitioner’s reply was due and filed on Tuesday, Nov. 12 (after the holiday weekend). The reply pointed out that the justification urged by the government had been rejected several times by federal courts in and outside of Maine and asked the court to rule that VBR was entitled to apply for bond under the original statute covering her presence in the United States.

The court’s ruling came out on Thursday, Nov. 14. Petition granted. VBR was entitled to be considered for bond to secure her attendance at any future proceedings. If the immigration court did not hear her request for bond within seven days she would be released.

The rest of the case occurred in the immigration court based in Chelmsford, Massachusetts. A bond hearing took place by Zoom on Nov. 21 before a federal immigration judge. VBR, dressed in her orange jail suit, was present via laptop from a small room at the Cumberland County Jail.

Her Massachusetts immigration lawyer argued that his client had lived for some years in the Lowell, Massachusetts area, was employed and had family there, was not a flight risk and did not pose an unreasonable danger to others.

The government lawyer argued that she was unreasonably dangerous based on a scuffle she had had with her son over a cellphone. The immigration judge ruled on the spot. VBR was not a flight risk and was not dangerous. She was eligible for release on the posting of $10,000 cash bond.

A few days later, her partner drove to Maine, posted the cash bond at the Cumberland County Jail and brought VBR back to her home in Massachusetts in time for Thanksgiving.

Lawyers are challenging wrongs by bringing cases in court. They are arguing those cases on behalf of real clients. The courts are deciding those cases in accord with the law. Their decisions are being respected and applied.

These are discouraging times. May the courts and lawyers of our community continue to give us hope that all is not lost and that the rule of law will continue to prevail.