Posted on October 28, 2009

Immigration Lawyers Take the Fight to ICE

Thomas MacMillan, New Haven Independent, October 27, 2009

Ten New Haven residents are filing suit against the federal agents behind the 2007 New Haven immigration raids. They claim that their arrests were an unlawful retaliation for the city’s immigrant-friendly ID card program.

When Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers swept into town on June 6, 2007, they rounded up 29 immigrants who had allegedly entered the country illegally.

In June, Yale attorneys successfully derailed deportation orders against five of those arrested, since ICE agents had entered their homes unconstitutionally.

Now, the Yale Law School students are going on the offensive. On Wednesday they’ll file a lawsuit on behalf of 10 of the people arrested in 2007. The suit will argue that ICE agents violated their constitutional rights, that ICE supervisors orchestrated the raids as retaliation for the creation of the Elm City ID card, and that high-level ICE officials failed to supervise their staff.

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The plaintiffs seek damages and declaratory relief.

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