Washington (CNN) A federal judge on Monday became the latest to rebuke the Trump administration for its immigration practices -- this time ordering the administration not to deny asylum seekers potential release from detention.

The lawsuit predates the administration's now-reversed practice of separating families at the border, but the national outcry over the policy that resulted in thousands of families being separated was not lost on the judge deciding this case.

"As the events of recent months make clear, the question of how this nation will treat those who come to our shores seeking refuge generates enormous debate," US District Judge James Boasberg wrote in the opening line of his 38-page opinion.

At issue in the case is the detention of undocumented immigrants seeking asylum in the US. Once they pass their initial screening, the government is supposed to make an individual decision about whether that immigrant should be released or detained, according to existing government policy.

The lawsuit was brought by a group of asylum seekers who said they passed the requisite threshold interview, but alleged that rather than conducting such individualized assessments, the Trump administration has been "unlawfully denying parole to virtually all asylum seekers based on deterrence at the five (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) Field Offices."

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