Cleveland lawsuits among wave that challenge immigration detention policies

CLEVELAND, Ohio — A wave of federal court rulings is challenging the U.S. government’s use of automatic immigration detention , with judges across the country ruling that people arrested on civil immigration charges are entitled to bond hearings.

In recent cases in Cleveland and Kentucky, among others, judges ruled that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and immigration courts violated detainees’ constitutional rights by denying them the opportunity to argue for release.

One case involved Saul Morales Chavez, a longtime Arkansas resident with no criminal history, who was jailed for more than eight months after vacationing in Puerto Rico. Homeland Security claimed he had “left the country,” making him ineligible for bond. But U.S. Magistrate Judge Reuben Sheperd in Cleveland rul