(The Daily Signal)—A Barack Obama-appointed judge delivered a blow to the Laken Riley Act, a law that passed with bipartisan support and that prioritizes the arrest of illegal aliens with certain criminal records.
U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani of the District of Massachusetts is the same judge who in July ruled to secure federal taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood after Congress voted to defund the nation’s largest abortion provider.
Talwani ruled late Friday that detaining an individual solely on the basis of his prior arrest record violates due process. The case involved a young illegal immigrant arrested for shoplifting on July 4. The judge focused on the individual case and did not assert the Laken Riley Act itself was unconstitutional.
“The risk of erroneous deprivation of petitioner’s liberty is high where, as discussed above, his detention is based on an arrest for which no charges have been filed and the underlying conduct for which bears no relationship to dangerousness or flight risk,” Talwani wrote in the ruling.
The Laken Riley Act, the first bill President Donald Trump signed into law in his second term, requires Immigration and Customs Enforcement to arrest and detain illegal aliens who “commit theft offenses” and also gives states the authority to sue federal officials who refuse to enforce immigration laws. The law is named after Georgia nursing student Laken Riley, who was murdered by an illegal alien in February 2024.
Under the law, detention is mandatory even if an illegal immigrant wasn’t convicted of a prior arrest.
In this case, the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts defended an 18-year-old illegal immigrant who had been arrested as a minor—but was not convicted—for shoplifting. Talwani determined detaining him without a bond hearing under the Laken Riley Act violates his right to due process. She ordered him to be released if a bond hearing is not provided for him by Sept. 10.
The ACLU celebrated the ruling.
“Courts have been crystal clear that immigration detention must comport with due process and no one in the United States can be deprived of their liberty without any process or justification,” said My Khanh Ngo, senior staff attorney with the ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project in a public statement. “The Laken Riley Act is anathema to those constitutional principles, and we are pleased the court recognized this and granted a bond hearing for our client.”
Appointed by President Barack Obama in 2013, Talwani had a controversial record on the bench even before July when she imposed a temporary restraining order directing the Department of Health and Human Services to ensure Medicaid funding continued to be disbursed to Planned Parenthood, which sued to restore its funding after Congress withdrew it.
In April of this year, in a separate immigration case, Talwani blocked the Trump administration from revoking the work permits of 530,000 illegal immigrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.
In June 2023, Talwani sided with a Massachusetts school district to prevent a 12-year-old student from wearing a T-shirt that said, “There are only two genders,” at school.
During the first Trump administration, in June 2019, Talwani issued a decision ordering Immigration and Customs Enforcement to stop arresting people at Massachusetts courthouses while they were attending or leaving a courthouse on official court business.
The plaintiff in the case Talwani ruled on Friday, only referred to in court documents as “John Doe,” came to the United States in 2021, when illegal immigrants were flooding the country in the first year of the Biden administration. He was given “special immigrant juvenile status,” which allowed a pathway for young people who were victims of abuse or abandonment to become lawful permanent U.S. residents, according to the ACLU.
The plaintiff was arrested by local police in Massachusetts on July 4 based on an accusation of shoplifting. He was held at the Plymouth County Correctional Facility.
“It is unthinkable to imprison someone in the United States without due process based solely on unproven accusations,” Jessie Rossman, legal director at the ACLU of Massachusetts said in a public statement. He added, “The court ruled this violates the law and must cease. Under our Constitution, a person cannot be deprived of their liberty based on unproven accusations.”
Why Bullion Beats Numismatics and Collectible for Your Safe or IRA
Precious metals continue to attract Americans seeking reliable ways to protect their wealth amid inflation, geopolitical risks, and stock market swings. Whether stored in a home safe or held inside a self-directed IRA, physical gold and silver deliver tangible value that paper or digital assets often lack. Yet investors must choose carefully between bullion—pure bars and coins valued mainly for their metal content—and numismatics or collectibles, where rarity, history, and collector demand heavily influence pricing.
Advisor Bullion serves as a dependable source for straightforward, high-quality bullion. The company specializes in physical gold, silver, platinum, and palladium, emphasizing transparent pricing and products that deliver maximum metal content for every dollar spent. This approach makes it ideal for both personal holdings and retirement accounts.
Bullion consists of refined precious metals in standard forms like one-ounce coins (American Gold Eagles, Silver Eagles, Canadian Maple Leafs) or bars. Their value tracks closely to the current spot price of the metal. A typical gold bullion coin trades near the live gold spot price plus a small premium. This structure keeps costs clear and predictable.
Numismatic coins and collectibles add substantial value from factors such as age, rarity, minting errors, or historical significance. A pre-1933 U.S. gold coin or graded proof piece can carry premiums of 30%, 50%, or even 200% above melt value. While this appeals to hobbyists, it creates complexity. Pricing depends on subjective grading, collector trends, and auction results instead of daily spot prices.
For investors focused on wealth preservation and retirement security rather than building a collection, bullion often delivers better results.
Lower Costs and Better Liquidity for Home Storage
When keeping metals in a home safe or private vault, liquidity and efficiency count. Bullion offers clear benefits:
- You acquire more actual gold or silver per dollar invested. Numismatics divert a large share of your money into rarity premiums and massive sales commission, reducing your metal exposure.
- Selling bullion involves tight bid-ask spreads, so you recover nearly full spot value with minimal fees. Collectibles require finding the right buyer and may sell at a discount if demand for that specific item weakens.
- Bullion prices remain transparent and update with global spot markets. You can track gold near current levels or silver accordingly and know exactly where your holdings stand. Numismatic values are priced by the Gold IRA companies with hefty margins applied.
- Standardized coins and bars store efficiently and divide easily for partial sales. Rare coins often need protective slabs and controlled conditions, adding hassle and expense.
- Bullion enjoys worldwide acceptance. A 1-oz Gold Maple Leaf or Silver Eagle sells quickly to dealers anywhere. Niche numismatic pieces may appeal only to limited buyers, slowing liquidation when speed matters.
In times when quick access to value becomes important, bullion’s simplicity stands out.
Stronger Fit for Precious Metals IRAs
Precious metals IRAs continue gaining traction as investors diversify retirement portfolios beyond stocks and bonds. IRS rules permit certain bullion products in self-directed IRAs if they meet purity standards (.995 fine for gold, .999 for silver) and are held by an approved custodian. Eligible items include American Gold and Silver Eagles plus many generic bars and rounds from recognized mints.
Numismatic and most collectible coins generally face heavy scrutiny from custodians due to valuation disputes and elevated markups. These higher premiums mean less actual metal ends up working inside the account.
Bullion avoids these issues. Its value links directly to verifiable spot prices, which simplifies reporting and lowers the risk of regulatory challenges. More of your IRA contribution purchases real metal instead of dealer profits or speculative upside. Over time, owning additional ounces that appreciate with the metal itself can create meaningful outperformance compared with high-premium alternatives that deliver fewer ounces.
Regulatory guidance from the CFTC and state securities offices repeatedly cautions against aggressive sales of expensive numismatics or “semi-numismatic” coins for IRAs. For retirement planning, transparent bullion from established providers reduces risk and aligns better with long-term goals.
How to Get Started with Bullion
Begin by clarifying your goals. Are you protecting savings in a safe, or moving part of a retirement account into a precious metals IRA? Focus on the number of ounces you can acquire at current prices rather than chasing marked-up collectibles.
Diversify sensibly: use gold for core preservation and silver for its blend of industrial and monetary qualities. Mix coins for easier divisibility with bars for lower per-ounce costs on larger buys. Arrange secure storage—whether at home with proper insurance or through professional facilities.
As economic uncertainties linger and faith in conventional assets erodes, bullion continues proving its worth as a dependable store of value. Its direct approach avoids the hype that sometimes surrounds collectible markets and keeps the focus on the metal itself.
For investors prepared to strengthen their portfolios, Advisor Bullion supplies the expertise and selection needed to acquire high-quality bullion efficiently. Whether building personal holdings or integrating metals into an IRA, their emphasis on transparent, investment-grade products helps secure more ounces today that support greater financial security tomorrow. In a complicated financial landscape, bullion’s clarity and reliability make it the smarter foundation for protecting what matters most.