For the first time in American history, the U.S. Department of Justice has sued an entire bench of federal justices, targeting all 15 judges of the U.S. District Court of Maryland.
Why? Because they dared to uphold one of the most basic rights in our legal system — the right to be heard before you’re summarily expelled from the country you’ve come to call home.
At the heart of this extraordinary legal assault is a standing order issued by Chief Judge George L. Russell III. His directive does not shield anyone from federal immigration law. It simply pauses deportations for 48 hours when a detained immigrant files a petition alleging unlawful detention — just enough time for the court to review the case and determine whether due process is being denied.
This is not radical. It’s not partisan. It’s the legal minimum demanded when a person’s future, and often their very life, is on the line.
The Justice Department lawsuit claims the order violates executive authority and disrupts the machinery of immigration enforcement. It views the checks and balances of our federal system as a nuisance and a drag on its ability to carry out rapid-fire deportations without judicial oversight.
But that is not a bug in our system. It is the very safeguard that prevents miscarriages of justice like the one we recently witnessed in the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man unlawfully deported despite having won legal protections blocking his removal to El Salvador.
I’ve spent my career at the intersection of law and public service, from private practice to the State Department, the White House, and now leading Global Refuge, one of the nation’s largest refugee resettlement nonprofits. I’ve seen firsthand how a single day — or a single hearing — can mean the difference between lawful protection and permanent separation from their loved ones. When we remove people without due process, we don’t just violate their rights; we betray our own values and the legal safeguards that protect every one of us.
What’s happening here in Maryland should alarm all Americans, regardless of where they stand on immigration policy. The executive branch is not simply challenging a ruling — it is suing an entire federal bench for performing its constitutional duty in a brazen attempt to intimidate them into submission. In doing so, it sends a dangerous message: that judges should step aside when presidential power is at play.
But that’s not how our system works. Checks and balances are not a bureaucratic inconvenience; they are the backbone of our democracy. The ability to question detention or removal in court is not a loophole; it’s a fundamental right. And when any administration — Republican or Democrat — tries to strip that right away, it threatens not just immigrants, but the integrity of the legal system that protects us all.
The fact of the matter is that Maryland’s judges are doing exactly what they were appointed to do: defending the Constitution, even when it’s politically inconvenient to those in power. They are preserving the space for justice to be carefully administered, rather than rushed or denied. For that, they deserve our respect, not retaliation.
Maryland’s response must therefore be as bold as the challenge we now face. Elected leaders should defend the independence of our courts. To his credit, Governor Moore has already condemned the lawsuit, and we encourage others — Republicans and Democrats alike — to join him. Advocates must continue to stand up for those who cannot stand alone. And ordinary citizens must recognize that this isn’t just about legal procedure. It’s about who we are as a state that believes in fairness, dignity and the rule of law.
Because here in Maryland, we don’t sideline the Constitution — we stand up for it.
Krish O’Mara Vignarajah is the president and CEO of the Baltimore-based nonprofit Global Refuge. She previously served as a policy director in the Obama White House and as a senior adviser at the U.S. Department of State.