Indonesian Christians Get Temporary Stay of Deportation

In Devitri v. Cronen, (D MA, Nov. 27, 2017), a Massachusetts federal district court issued a temporary injunction barring the federal government from removing 51 Indonesian Christians who fear religious persecution if their final Orders of Removal are implemented. As explained by the court:

In 2010, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) instituted a humanitarian program called Operation Indonesian Surrender, through which Petitioners were granted Orders of Supervision, allowing them to seek employment and subjecting them to certain mandatory conditions. Petitioners also received temporary stays of removal that were renewed over multiple years. In the summer of 2017, these individuals were informed that they would be removed from the United States.

Petitioners claim that they need additional time to exercise their statutory right to move to reopen their cases based on changed country conditions that arose after their Orders of Removal became final. The court asked the government for additional briefing on how long the temporary injunction should remain in effect to give a reasonable time to file a motion to reopen.  ACLU issued a press release announcing the court's decision.