US citizen: the sheriff arrested me after ICE's request



[ad_1]

Even though he repeatedly told the authorities of Monroe County, Florida, that he was a US citizen, according to a complaint filed Monday by the federal government, he was placed on guard at sight and threatened to be directed to a Jamaican prison, citing a petition. from Immigration and Customs and Enforcement.

Now, more than seven months after his alleged arrival in an ICE detention center, Brown, 50, sued the Monroe County Sheriff, alleging that he was illegally detained.

Monroe County Sheriff's Office spokesman Adam Linhardt and ICE spokesperson Dani Bennett declined to comment, claiming that their agencies did not comment on the ongoing litigation .

The complaint filed Monday by a coalition of immigrant rights groups in the US District Court South District of Miami details Brown's allegations about his detention and its consequences in April 2018.

"Despite his repeated protests with several prison officers, his offer to provide evidence and his own records, the sheriff's office detained Mr. Brown so that ICE could deport him to Jamaica – a country where he was Has never lived and knows no one, "says the lawsuit.

Brown was arrested in early April 2018 after being delivered for breach of probation, the trial says.

After his detention, the authorities allegedly sent information about him to ICE and, in response, the agency reportedly addressed what is called a detention application, document asking the forces of the Local order to detain a person up to 48 hours beyond what they would otherwise have done.

As a result of the trial, Brown was illegally detained and transferred from the local prison to the Krome Immigrant Detention Center in Miami.

According to the complaint, a friend sent a copy of his birth certificate to ICE.

"After confirming that Mr. Brown was a US citizen, ICE hastily released him from Krome, and before he left they confiscated all the documents he had been given about his imminent expulsion," the trial said. .

  Inside Hidden Border

If his friend would not have been able to provide a copy of his birth certificate to ICE, Brown would have been deported, according to the complaint.

"It is shocking and unfair that someone can lose their human rights and be stripped of all their dignity simply because someone hands over a piece of paper or signs a form," Brown said. in a statement issued by the American Civil Liberties Union, one of the organizations that represented him.

Brown's attorneys claim that the case highlights flaws in the ICE and sh detention system Why should not local authorities meet the expectations of the agency?

"Peter's scary story should prompt sheriffs and police chiefs to think twice before agreeing to detain people for ICE," wrote Spencer Amdur, project lawyer on rights of immigrants from the ACLU.

Attorney Jonathan N. Soleimani said in a statement that "the sheriff's practice of executing blindly ICE detention applications – even when there is evidence that weakened its foundation – resulted in a violation of Mr. Brown's constitutional rights ". 19659011] What are sanctuary cities and can they be amortized? "data-src-mini =" // cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/140714205430-immigration-protest-0714-hp-video.jpg "data-src-xsmall =" // cdn.cnn.com /download.aspx 0714-story-top.jpg "data-src-medium =" // cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/140714205430-immigration-protest-0714-horizontal-large-gallery.jpg "data-src-large = "// cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/140714205430-immigration-protest-0714-horizontal-large-gallery.jpg" data-src-full16x9 = "// cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam /assets/140714205430-immigration-protest-0714-horizontal-large-gallery.jpg "data-src-mini1x1 =" // cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/140714205430-immigration-protest-0714-topics. jpg "data-demand-load =" not-loaded "data-eq-pts =" mini: 0, xsmall: 221, small: 308, medium: 461, large: 781 "src =" data: image / gif; base64 , R0LGODlhEAAJAJEAAAAAAP /////// wAAACH5BAEAAAIALAAAAAAQAAkAAAIKlI + py + 0Po5yUFQA7 "/>

ICE indicated that it was addressing detention requests to local law enforcement agencies to protect public safety and ensure its implementation mission.

But the practice is controversial. Defenders of sanctuary towns, local jurisdictions that do not cooperate with ICE in immigration control, accuse the agency of targeting people who do not threaten public security.

Brown is not the only American citizen to have been arrested. by ICE.

An investigation by the Los Angeles Times earlier this year revealed that ICE had released more than 1,400 people since 2012 after investigating citizenship applications.

Matthew Albence, a senior ICE official, told the newspaper that the agency was taking any decision. claims that a detained person can be a US citizen very seriously.

ICE updates its records when errors are found, Albence said in a statement in The Times, and agents who only arrest those they have reason to suspect are likely to be deported. 19659014] In a video published by the ACLU, Brown explained one of the reasons for his lawsuit.

"I would never have thought that would happen in a million years, and I can tell you that it's not a good feeling." And with policies like this in the 'order and that people apply them like that, it would only continue,' he said. "There must be a stop at some point, before it becomes all of us."

Geneva Sands of CNN and Rosa Flores contributed to this report.

[ad_2]
Source link