Immigrant advocates filed a class action suit Thursday against the Department of Homeland Security for unlawfully detaining immigrants and U.S. citizens identified through local law enforcement agencies.
The Heartland Alliance's National Immigrant Justice Center sued DHS in Illinois federal court, challenging the constitutionality of immigration detainers, which instruct local police to continue to detain people suspected of immigration violations, even after no other basis for custody exists, until U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrive to take the person into custody.
The complaint alleges that the detainers violate the Fourth and Fifth Amendments because DHS ”fails to establish probable cause before issuing the detainers, does not notify individuals that detainers have been issued against them, and provides no means by which individuals can challenge their extended detention.” Also, the suit charges that the use of detainers violates the 10th Amendment because it requires state and local governments to implement federal law.
One plaintiff in the case, Jose Jimenez Moreno, is a 34-year old U.S. citizen who is being held at the Winnebago County Jail in Illinois on other charges. The detainer, however, is preventing him from getting out on bail – and is invalid, since he’s a citizen.
“Without ever interviewing or speaking to him, ICE issued an immigration detainer against Mr. Jimenez on March 22, 2011. To date, ICE has never had contact with Mr. Jimenez,” the complaint states.
Another plaintiff, Maria Jose Lopez, is a 29-year old legal permanent resident who is being detained at the Federal Correctional Institution in Tallahassee. In November 2010, she pled guilty to “misprision of a felony” a non-removable offense for immigration purposes. Still, “because of her detainer, at the end of her term of lawful custody, Ms. Lopez is unlawfully subject to being held an additional 48 hours or more in the custody of FCI-Tallahassee when, but for the detainer, she would otherwise be released,” the complaint states.
A DHS spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
I think the question of whether "illegal aliens" should be kept in detention is immaterial in this case. The two people whose cases are highlighted are a U.S. citizen (Jose Jimenez Moreno) and a permanent resident (Maria Jose Lopez). There is no immigration issue here; they are as lawfully here as you or I. The issue is that law enforcement is apparently not checking whether someone is indeed lawfully in the U.S. or not. If you were to stop me today and ask me to prove that I am a U.S. citizen (which I am), I would not be able to do so on the spot. I would have to rely on the agency in question giving me the opportunity to prove my status (which I can). This is probably true of most of us. So if I were detained on suspicion of being an "illegal alien" without someone actually checking the facts and keeping me in detention, you better believe my family would sue the government. So whatever our ideology regarding who should be deported or not, let's make sure we keep an eye on where the law draws the line and don't allow law enforcement agencies to trample on all of us under the ruse of fighting illegal immigration.
Posted by: Tamara | August 22, 2011 at 10:06 AM
Illegal aliens have NO RIGHT to be in this country. If they did, they wouldn't be called illegal aliens. The illegal aliens who do not have our jobs are using this country as a welfare country. Look at all the anchor babies we have paid for. Then we have to school the illegal aliens children and give them FREE health care and they are ILLEGALLY in this country. WAKE UP, for God's sake and get these illegal aliens out of this country and back in their own country where they belong with their families.
Posted by: Delaware Bob | August 13, 2011 at 11:13 PM
This is the most absurd lawsuit I've ever heard of.
Posted by: D. Porter | August 13, 2011 at 12:59 PM
Immigration advocates have long argued that local law enforcement officials should not detain persons based solely upon the belief that they are in the country illegally. These same advocates maintain that local authorities should not report a detained person’s status to I.C.E. At no time do these activists suggest that the Federal government lacks the authority to enforce the nation’s immigration laws. No legal argument is put forth that suggests that the Federal government and States cannot jointly enforce immigration laws. The most zealous advocates simply demand that the U.S. take no action against persons illegally in this country. This country stands upon the enforcement of its laws without any discrimination against or in favor of any group.
After reading the complaint in its entirety I discovered the plaintiff’s motives for filing this action; they are surrogates for National Immigrant Justice Center which seeks to make a general political statement against immigration policy and practice. Based upon the way the complaint was drafted, the Court will probably refuse to grant class action status. Further complicating the case the plaintiffs choose a narrow legal theory upon which to base their entire complaint. The facts might not even be in dispute as they apply to the plaintiffs. Under these circumstances a motion to dismiss will be made and probably granted. The plaintiffs reveal their lack of confidence in their own complaint by not asking for a temporary injunction. As incredible as it seems the plaintiffs fail to ask for any relief or damages for the alleged violation of their constitutional rights.
The attorneys at the National Immigrant Justice Center are professional and competent. That being said; this case does not represent their best effort.
Posted by: Paul H. Jones | August 13, 2011 at 08:42 AM