TAPIA-RUANO & GUNN P.C.

Great news: a recent decision in an important Federal Court Order exposes the current Administrations' Policies that repeatedly disregard the rule of law.

On February 18, 2026, Judge Sunshine Sykes of the Central District of California vacated Matter of Yajure Hurtado, the Board of Immigration Appeals decision that immigration judges across the country had been citing to deny bond hearings to detained noncitizens. The order came in Maldonado Bautista v. Santacruz, the same case that produced the December 18, 2025 nationwide class declaratory judgment declaring indefinite detention of “Bond Eligible Class” members unlawful.

The ruling is devastating for the government. Not because of its legal novelty, but because of what it reveals about how the executive branch has been operating: selectively obeying its own regulations, ignoring federal court orders, and attempting to insulate unlawful policy from judicial review by laundering it through a different agency.

Current White House Administration engaging in Big Brother tactics by withholding vital government records belonging to individuals.

Whistleblower Report Reveals USCIS Is Circumventing Court Order on Immigrants’ Access to their Records - American Immigration Council A whistleblower report published today in Government Executive shows how U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is circumventing a court order that requires the agency to provide immigrants with their immigration records within the legal timelines. The revelations state that USCIS has ado...

On October 30, 2025, a Federal Judge in Marylad has halted the need to pay the asylum application renewal fees due to the significant confusion created by instructions and policies of government agencies.

The Administration wants Immigrants to "Pay-to-Play".

On Friday, Sept 17, President Trump signed a proclamation restricting the entry and approval of new H-1B visas unless U.S. employers pay a $100,000 fee and issued an executive order granting green cards to individuals who “gift” $1 million to the United States, replacing merit-based categories.
AILA President Jeff Joseph said the President is turning H-1B into a “‘pay-to-play’ system” that “effectively shut[s] out teachers, nonprofits, researchers, rural doctors, clergy, and other professionals.” He warned it “will undermine innovation” and “prevent businesses both large and small from accessing the talent they need.”
AILA Executive Director Ben Johnson said the measures “attempt to rewrite laws created by Congress” and “will not stand up in court,” but cautioned that “in the meantime, we are inflicting needless harm on ourselves” and sending a message that “the United States is closing its doors” to global talent.