New Hampshire's undocumented Indonesian population is taking legal action against President Trump's deportation crackdown. A judge today agreed to halt ongoing deportations for two weeks while the case moves forward.
The community of immigrants came to the U.S. in the 1990s fleeing religious persecution. They applied for religious asylum, but many were denied, and approximately 70 currently face deportation.
In a federal class-action lawsuit, the community is now asking to re-open their asylum cases, to argue that conditions back in Indonesia have gotten worse for Christians.
“Under the schedule that ICE is following right now, they would not have time to make those arguments in immigration court," said Dan Deane, one of the attorneys representing the Indonesian community. He says the short time frame amounts to a violation of due process.
Today's ruling halts deportations for around a dozen immigrants who were days away from flying back to Indonesia.
The judge is expected to issue a ruling on the lawsuit in the next two weeks.