Federal judge rejects Massachusetts return bid by immigration detainees News
Federal judge rejects Massachusetts return bid by immigration detainees

[JURIST] A federal judge in Massachusetts has dismissed [order, PDF] a lawsuit [ACLU materials] brought by illegal immigrant detainees over their transfer from Massachusetts to Texas holding centers following a March 6 factory raid in which 360 people were arrested. Lawyers for the detainees argued that the government moved them to Texas to deny the detainees legal aid, but the government countered that the reason for the move was that there was simply not enough space in Massachusetts to hold them. US District Judge Richard Stearns held Monday that his court did not have jurisdiction to hear the claims, but ordered the government not to deport the detainees until their claims can be filed in a court that possesses proper jurisdiction.

The US Department of Homeland Security [official website] detained more than 300 people for possible deportation as illegal immigrants after a March 6 raid at Michael Bianco Inc. [corporate website], a leather factory that makes equipment for the US military. Following the raid, Stearns ordered US immigration officials [JURIST report] to provide detainees access to lawyers and not to move them out of state. AP has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

International Day Against Fascism and Anti-Semitism

November 9 is the International Day Against Fascism and Anti-Semitism [UNITED factsheet]. On November 9, 1924, American gay activist Henry Gerber and several associates formed the Society for Human Rights, the first gay rights organization in the United States. The Society received a charter from the State of Illinois in December but was disbanded in July 1925 after a police raid which led to Gerber's arrest and trial (albeit not conviction). Pay a virtual visit to Henry Gerber House, now a registered Chicago landmark.

Supreme Court strikes down Massachusetts anti-draft law

On November 9, 1970, the Supreme Court voted 6-3 in Massachusetts v. Laird not to hear the case of the state's anti-draft law. Massachusetts had passed a law, which allowed its citizens to decline to fight in any undeclared war, even if the person was drafted. The law was passed in opposition to the draft and the war in Vietnam. The First Circuit found the war constitutional and thus struck down the law.