Trump Deportation Lawsuit Faces Uphill Battle With Skeptical Judge
Judge Thomas Cullen has his doubts about the Trump administration’s lawsuit against every federal judge in Maryland.
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
A judge has voiced his skepticism about the Trump administration’s attempt to sue all 15 of Maryland’s federal judges over a standing order in a blow to the president’s ongoing war against the judiciary.
Judge Thomas T. Cullen, who usually sits in Virginia but is presiding over the case as all federal judges in Maryland are named as defendants, voiced his concerns over whether the Justice Department made the right decision by filing a lawsuit.
The lawsuit focuses on a standing order issued by Maryland Chief District Judge George Russell that applies a temporary stay of deportation of two business days while the case is considered.
The Justice Department argued that the standing order effectively acts as an injunction against the Trump administration's attempted deportations.
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
The Justice Department filed suit in response, arguing that Russell did not have the authority to impose such restrictions on the government.
During the Wednesday hearing, Cullen told the DOJ’s lawyer, according to NBC News, “I don’t have a very good poker face. And you probably picked up on the fact that I have some skepticism.”
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Cullen explained that the government has alternative means of challenging the order that would be preferable to suing all of Maryland’s federal judges, including filing appeals in the individual immigration cases where the standing order has been applied.
Judge Cullen was nominated to his role as District Judge by Trump during his first presidency.
Department of Justice
He also said that the government may have already achieved a resolution if they had filed a standard appeal, telling the DOJ’s lawyers, “If recent precedent is any guide, you would already have a decision.”
He did accept some of the administration’s arguments, however, including the argument that the order effectively acts as a temporary injunction against Trump’s attempted mass deportations of immigrants.
The standing order was issued in May in response to the Trump administration’s rapid-fire deportations, like that of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident who was wrongly deported to his home country of El Salvador before being returned.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia's made headlines after he was wrongfully deported to his home country by the Trump administration.
Handout/Sen. Van Hollen's Office via Getty Images
It states that once an immigrant files a petition for habeas corpus, the government cannot deport them until their case has been resolved in the courts. Judge Russell, who issued the order, explained that it was designed to “preserve existing conditions and the potential jurisdiction of this court over pending matters.”
One of the lawyers hired to defend the Maryland judges, the former solicitor general under President George W. Bush, Paul Clement, has warned that if the lawsuit is allowed to proceed to trial, it could create a “nightmare scenario” where judges could be deposed and internal documents reviewed by the government, threatening the separation of powers.
The Trump presidency has thrown the Justice Department into turmoil, with over 60 percent of departmental lawyers tasked with handling legal challenges mounted against the administration’s policies quitting since late 2024. Other former workers are suing Attorney General Pam Bondi and the DOJ, alleging that they were unlawfully fired after working on Jan. 6 prosecution cases.
Judges across the U.S. have issued orders and injunctions in an attempt to prevent the president from ignoring the rule of law, particularly as he seeks to enact his harsh immigration policies. Most recently, a judge ordered that ICE release a nursing mother from its custody after she had been detained for three weeks.
Cullen, who was appointed by Trump in 2020, has said that he plans to issue a ruling by Labor Day.
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