On September 27th, a federal judge ruled against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), saying the agency could not solely rely on flawed databases to target illegal immigrants for deportation.
U.S. District Court Judge Andre Birrote Jr. handed down the permanent injunction that will bar ICE agents from using the databases to issue a request for detainment with police agencies to keep arrested immigrants in custody for up two days beyond the time they would normally be held.
The ruling was the result of a class-action lawsuit and also blocks ICE from issuing detainers to local and state police when there isn’t a state statute that authorizes civil immigration arrests on detainers.
This case will likely have major implications for the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration. Jessica Bansal, senior staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Southern California, says the decision “is a tremendous blow to ICE’s Secure Communities deportation program and to Trump’s effort to use police throughout the country to further his deportation programs.”
The class-action lawsuit represents a wide range of immigrants who have been or will be subjected to detainers from ICE. The legal complaint argued that the databases ICE agents reference are so flawed and incomplete that they should not be relied on as the “sole basis for keeping someone in custody.”
Judge Birrote sided with the argument and said that ICE’s databases contained “incomplete data, significant errors, or were not designed to provide information that would be used to determine a person’s removability.”
Dedicated Immigration Lawyers Serving Georgia
Our legal team at Klinke Immigration, LLC is glad that Judge Birrote has taken action to end this flawed practice that ICE has been using to target immigrants. Hopefully, this ruling will put a dent in the President’s latest efforts to deport massive numbers of immigrants.
Are you or a loved one facing deportation? If so, call our attorneys to discuss your situation. Don’t hesitate, schedule your case consultation today.