UPDATE 2-Trump administration cannot sue Maryland federal judges over immigration order, judge rules

A federal judge on Tuesday threw out an

unusual lawsuit the Trump administration filed against every federal judge in Maryland over an order slowing down speedy deportation efforts.

The ruling by U.S. District Judge Thomas Cullen, a Trump appointee from Roanoke, Virginia, brought in to oversee the case in Baltimore, marked a setback for the Trump administration's battle against judicial orders stymieing the president's agenda. Cullen said the Maryland judges are "immune from suit," and that the Trump administration "fails to identify a legitimate cause of action that allows it to bring this lawsuit."

Cullen, whom Trump appointed in 2020, also wrote that it was unfortunate that Trump administration officials have used words like "rogue," "unhinged," and "radical" to describe federal judges across the country. "Although some tension between the coordinate branches of government is a hallmark of our constitutional system, this concerted effort by the Executive to smear and impugn individual judges who rule against it is both unprecedented and unfortunate," Cullen wrote.

Representatives for the Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Justice Department filed the case in June after the Maryland court in May adopted a standing order that automatically blocks for two business days the deportation of migrants in the state who file new habeas lawsuits challenging their detention.

Chief U.S. District Judge George Russell issued the order as the Republican president's administration moved to fulfill Trump's pledge to conduct mass deportations. Russell, who like most judges in the Maryland court was appointed by a Democratic president, cited a "recent influx of habeas petitions concerning alien detainees purportedly subject to improper and imminent removal from the United States." A habeas petition is a legal challenge by a person in custody to argue that their detention is unlawful and violates their constitutional rights.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)