Reposted by Kathleen Alcalá
A glimpse into Trump's make-believe world of "giant water valves" in Northern California…
Kathleen Alcalá
@alqalaqat.bsky.social
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Author of fiction and nonfiction. Descendent of Crypto-Jews and Ópata. 3 novels set in 19th Century Mexico @chroniclebooks.bsky.social re published @ravenchron.bsky.social. Next is from Rosarium Publishing. Opinionated but quiet. All about peace, justice.
![Defendants.
Civil Action No. 25-cv-3135 (TSC)
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER
In 1988, the United States signed the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment ('CAT") Treaty, and formally ratified it in October 1994. For over three decades, through five presidential administrations, this country has adhered to its obligations to treat refugees humancly and to comply with the Constitutional requirement of due process, which is afforded to all persons present in this country, regardless of their citizenship status. Zadvydas v: Davis, 533 U.S. 678, 693 (2001) ("[T]he Due Process Clause applies to all "persons" within the United States, including (non-citizens), whether their presence here is lawful, unlawful, temporary, or permanent.").
In recent months, the government has embarked upon a series of deportations which signal a drastic change of course. In several cases, authorities have rounded up - often at night and with
Case 1:25-cv-03135-TSC
Document 41 Filed 09/15/25 Page 2 of](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:t4x2ruk2qmob2b2cx55h4v7r/bafkreidfbsdzddxh54c7mpn3cub4jhqr7aok6uvzvavp7vur6biziak4pi)
![government likely violated the TVPRA and issued a TRO.
• Noem v: Abrego Garcia, 145 S. Ct. 1017 (2025): The government improperly deported Abrego Garcia to a prison in El Salvador even though he "was subject to a withholding order forbidding his removal to [El] Salvador." The Supreme Court ordered the government to facilitate his return. See Abrego Garcia v. Noem, No.
25-1404, 2025 WL 1135112, at * 1 (4th Cir. Apr. 17, 2025).
• Melgar-Salmeron v: Bondi, No. 23-7792 (2d Cir. 2025): Approximately thirty minutes after the Second Circuit granted Melgar-Salmeron a stay of removal, the government placed him on a plane and deported him to El Salvador. The Second Circuit ordered the govemment to facilitate his return to the United States.
• Department of Homeland Security v: D.V.D., 145 S. Ct. 2153 (2025): A gay Guatemalan man stated that he feared he would be tortured on account of his sexuality if deported to either Guatemala or Mexico. Id. at 2154 (Sotomayor, J., dissenting). An immigration judge granted a withholding of removal to Guatemala out not Mexico because Guatemala was the only country designated on his order of removal. Days later, the government deported the man to Mexico without giving him an opportunity to seck a withholding of removal to that country. Soon after, Mexico deported him to Guatemala, where he went into hiding.
Here, Defendants transported Plaintiffs to Ghana with no notice or opportunity to challenge that removal, under what appears to be a hasty and unwritten agreement with Ghana, which has indicated its intention to retum Plaintifis to their home countries where Defendants agree they will almost certainly be persecuted. This is not merely, as Defendants suggest, "a frustrating situation." Sept. 13, 2025, Mot. Hr'g Tr. 6:19-7:1.
Nonetheless, despite the danger Plaintifis now face as a result of Defendants' actions, and
as explained below, the court cannot grant Plaintiffs the relief they seck because Plaintiff's have
not met their burden to es…](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:t4x2ruk2qmob2b2cx55h4v7r/bafkreigq5pyck66dkcv6rgklq2teljv77zmuttqlkvnkknbkd62qhzpm5e)
