Royal Oak-Born Federal Judge Steps Into Spotlight in Immigration Battle

Judge Ann Donnelly

Brooklyn U.S District Court Judge Ann Donnelly, who temporarily blocked the Trump administration from enforcing an executive order to ban certain immigrants from entering the U.S., was born in Royal Oak.

Born in 1959, she graduated with an undergrad degree from the University of Michigan in 1981. She earned her law degree from the Moritz College of Law at Ohio State University.

Before becoming a federal judge, she worked for the New York County District Attorney’s Office from 1984-2009. From 2009 to 2015, she served as a judge of the New York Court of Claims. Nominated to the federal bench on President Barack Obama, and was confirmed by the Senate in October 2015.

On Saturday, Donnelly ruled that the U.S. could not remove individuals from seven Muslim-majority countries who had arrived in U.S. airports after the order had been issued. The White House claimed on Sunday the ruling does not undercut the executive order, CNN reports.