AP: Western Washington Acting U.S. Attorney Floyd Tells Judge Estudillo His Office Will No Longer Defend Many ICE Habeas Cases

confirmed Checked against sources Importance 8/10 ~1 min read 2 sources 1 actor

Acting U.S. Attorney Charles Floyd said in a letter to U.S. District Judge David Estudillo that “there will be many habeas cases in which the USAO will no longer assume responsibility for providing a defense on behalf of the respondents.” He didn’t specify how many cases could be affected. The newsletter Eyes On Ice dates the memorandum October 26, 2026 and describes a rule under which, if no Notice of Appearance is filed within seven court days of a standard scheduling order, the office will not file a response or defend the detention.

This is a different matter from the OneAmerica Votes v. Trump entries that name Floyd. Related entries on Tacoma and the Northwest ICE Processing Center: 2026-07-10–tacoma-geo-group-federal-judge-orders-state-health-inspection, 2026-10-28–ice-awards-geo-group-1-5-billion-10-year-contract-tacoma-northwest-ice-processing-center-single-offer.

Sources & Citations

[1] Faced with influx, prosecutor in Washington says he lacks resources to defend immigration cases — Associated Press via OPB · Nov 10, 2026 Tier 2

[2] Tacoma, Washington: Federal Prosecutors Abandon Blanket Defense of ICE as Detainee Habeas Lawsuits Cripple U.S. Attorney's Office — Eyes On Ice · Nov 10, 2026 Tier 3

Tiers Tier 1 court records & gov docs · Tier 2 established outlets · Tier 3 regional & specialty press · Tier 4 opinion or single-source. Methodology →

Cite this entry

The Cascade Ledger. “AP: Western Washington Acting U.S. Attorney Floyd Tells Judge Estudillo His Office Will No Longer Defend Many ICE Habeas Cases.” The Capture Cascade Timeline, November 10, 2026. https://capturecascade.org/event/2026-11-10--ap-us-attorney-western-washington-floyd-letter-office-will-not-defend-many-ice-habeas-petitions/