Texas Lawyer Quotes Michelle Reed on Use of TRO in Deportation Case
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Akin Gump litigation partner Michelle Reed was quoted in a Texas Lawyer article about lawyers in Texas convincing a federal judge to issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) to delay a client’s expedited deportation in an asylum case. According to the article, the tactics used, which invoked the constitutional right to due process, could be employed by other lawyers handling similar cases.
The article reports that the TRO was secured in order to prevent the government from deporting the Honduran woman unless she was first reunited with her 12-year-old daughter and an immigration judge had reviewed her asylum request. The TRO also required that she be able to remain in the United States to seek all appeals.
Reed, who has done immigration pro bono work in South Texas, said the federal court proceeding is unusual in Texas but that it could be used in other cases to fight expedited deportation.
“For a district judge to intervene in this way is most definitely unusual,” Reed said. “However, there are subject-matter grounds they can use here. Clearly, district courts can hear constitutional claims.”
