State
of Rhode Island and ICE violated US citizen’s rights
American Civil Liberties Union
A
federal court has ruled that federal immigration officials and the state of
Rhode Island violated the Constitution in detaining a U.S. citizen without
probable cause while the federal government investigated her immigration
status.
The
American Civil Liberties Union filed the lawsuit on behalf of Ada Morales, who
was born in Guatemala and became a naturalized United States citizen in 1995.
In
2009, when she was arrested by Rhode Island authorities for an unrelated state
charge, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issued an immigration hold
against her.
A
judge had ordered her release, but the state Department of Corrections held her
for an additional 24 hours solely because of the ICE detainer, and even after
she repeatedly told officials she was a U.S. citizen and offered to show them
her naturalization certificate and passport.
In
a strongly worded opinion issued January 24, U.S. District Judge John J. McConnell
Jr. agreed, writing that Morales’
“illegal detention revealed a dysfunction of constitutional proportion at both the state and federal levels and a unilateral refusal to take responsibility for the fact that a United States citizen lost her liberty due to a baseless immigration detainer through no fault of her own.”
The
judge also said the facts surrounding Morales’ unlawful detention “are
disturbing on many levels” and “should concern all Americans.”
“Today’s
decision is the latest in a series of court decisions from across the country
underscoring the serious legal and constitutional flaws in the use of
immigration detainers, reinforcing that states and localities should avoid
getting mixed up in the federal government’s unlawful immigration practices,”
said Cody Wofsy, an attorney with the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project.
Steven
Brown, executive director of the ACLU of Rhode Island, said:
“As a new presidential administration considers implementing mass deportations, this court ruling is an important reminder of the dangers to liberty that all of us face from overzealous government agencies. We are hopeful that today’s decision sends a strong message about the importance of the courts in safeguarding the rights of all.”
“We
are honored to represent Ms. Morales and work with the ACLU on this important
matter, and are grateful that the court recognized just how painful and unjust
this detention was for Ms. Morales and her family,” said Mark Ford, a partner
at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP, pro bono counsel in this case.
More
information about this case is at: https://www.aclu.org/cases/immigrants-rights/morales-v-chadbourne?quicktabs_content_video_podcasts=1&redirect=immigrants-rights/morales-v-chadbourne