As if we needed any more indications that this country is heading in the wrong direction, John Gleeson--a judge for the Eastern District of New York--ruled yesterday that the government can detain non-citizens indefinitely on the basis of religion, race, or national origin (see here). As Rachel Meeropol--a lawyer for The Center for Constitutional Rights--correctly pointed out:
This decision is a green light to racial profiling and prolonged detention of noncitizens at the whim of the president...the decision is profoundly disturbing because it legitimizes the fact that the Bush administration rounded up and imprisoned our clients because of their religion and race.
Luckily, Judge Gleeson is just a district judge. Hopefully, the other judges in the city and state of New York will choose not to follow his lead down the road to authoritarianism.
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