Breaking News: Supreme Court Vacates and Remands Court of Appeals Decision Halting Removal of Immigrant Activist

Suzanne Monyak Law360 reports that the U.S. Supreme Court today revived the U.S. effort to deport an immigrant activist, vacating a court of appeals ruling that had allowed him to challenge the removal proceedings instituted by U.S. immigration authorities. The Court vacated the Second Circuit’s decision that found U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement may have targeted and illegally retaliated against Ravi Ragbir, head of New Sanctuary Coalition of New York City and a native of Trinidad and Tobago, for exercising his First Amendment rights.  

The Court sent the case back to the appeals court “for further consideration” in light of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security v. Thuraissigiam, which prevented an asylum-seeker who was apprehended immediately after crossing the U.S. border from challenging as expedited deportation order.  The orderr reads in its entirety: “The petition for a writ of certiorari is granted. The judgment is vacated, and the case is remanded to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit for further consideration in light of Department of Homeland Security v. Thuraissigiam, 591 U. S. ___ (2020).”

UPDATE (Oct. 5):  The New York Times editorial board (“ICE Tried to Deport an Immigration Activist. That May Have Been Unconstitutional.”) wrote about Ravi Ragbir’s case in April, 2019:

“Mr. Ragbir, during a routine check-in with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Lower Manhattan, was told that he was being detained and would be deported. Under the Trump administration, this experience is alarmingly common, even for those like Mr. Ragbir with strong family ties in the United States and with an American spouse. One thing stood out in this case: Mr. Ragbir was the executive director of the New Sanctuary Coalition — a group dedicated to assisting immigrants — and he was one of a number of immigration activists ordered detained or deported within a matter of weeks.”

For further commentary on the case, see here and here.  Ragbir’s removal case has repeatedly been in the news.   

KJ