Kathryn Rubino says the Justice Department no longer has the lawyers to keep up with the mess its own policy created
Kathryn RubinoSenior editor at Above the Law, in a commentary on the site
Writing about Floyd's letter, Rubino says the immigration crackdown has left a Justice Department that cannot keep up with the detentions it produces, and that the office in western Washington lacks the lawyers to keep defending them.
“There's a second casualty, too: a Justice Department that no longer has the lawyers to keep up with the mess its own policy created.”
Analysis
Where this statement fits
U.S. Attorney's Office in western Washington says it will no longer defend ICE in many detention cases; Judge Cartwright frees a detainee whose petition went unanswered
In an October 26, 2026 letter to Chief U.S. District Judge David S. Estudillo, Acting U.S. Attorney Charles Neil Floyd said the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Washington does not have the resources to enter an appearance in every one of the dozens of immigration habeas petitions filed each week. He wrote that in many cases the office would no longer defend U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and its officials, and that if no government lawyer appears within seven court days of a scheduling order, the court may rule on the petitioner's papers alone. On November 7, U.S. District Judge Tiffany M. Cartwright treated the petition of Baljit Singh, an asylum seeker from India held at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, as intentionally unopposed and ordered him released within one day. Her order attached Floyd's letter, which made it public. The court entered judgment for Singh on November 9. Floyd says the volume of petitions, often copied from one another, has hurt the office's ability to respond to cases that need attorney time and to other civil litigation. Above the Law senior editor Kathryn Rubino says the Justice Department no longer has the lawyers to handle the detentions its own policy produced.
Source and context
Analysis
About this source
Rubino's commentary on Floyd's letter, which ties the office's lack of lawyers to the Justice Department's staff losses and the administration's detention policy.
Before the quotation
Rubino opens by describing the human cost of the administration's immigration surge, including people held for months without a bond hearing.
After the quotation
She writes that in his October 26 letter to Chief Judge Estudillo, Floyd, whom she calls the self-styled acting U.S. attorney, told the court his office does not have the lawyers to keep defending the detentions.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
Rubino blames the office's retreat on a Justice Department that ran short of lawyers while pursuing its own detention policy, which criticizes the decision and the policy behind it, so we labeled it condemns.
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Read the full caseU.S. Attorney's Office in western Washington says it will no longer defend ICE in many habeas cases
U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Washington
“Thus, going forward, in order to conserve resources, there will be many habeas cases in which the USAO will no longer assume responsibility for providing a defense on behalf of the respondents.”Read statement
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The Dispute Index. "Kathryn Rubino says the Justice Department no longer has the lawyers to keep up with the mess its own policy created". First published: 2026-11-14. Last updated: 2026-11-14. https://disputeindex.com/events/8966-writing-about-floyd-s-letter-rubino-says-the