Fourth Amendment Protections for Undocumented Immigrants

United States v. Atienzo, 2005 US Dist LEXIS 31652 by Paul G. Cassell, United States District Judge, begins as as follows:

This case is before the court on defendant Ray Atienzo’s motion to suppress incriminating evidence against him for alleged violation of his Fourth Amendment rights. Atienzo is in this country illegally, creating the question of whether he is entitled to claim the Amendment’s protections, which extend to “the People ” of this country. In an earlier decision–United States v. Esparza-Mendoza –the court agreed with the government that previously deported alien felons illegally in this country fell outside the Amendment’s coverage. The court, however, specifically reserved the issue of whether the same conclusion would apply to someone who, while an illegal alien, was not a previously-deported felon. The court now holds that the sole fact that someone is an illegal alien does not deprive them of the protections of the Fourth Amendment, at least in situations where the government does not raise any contrary argument.

Judge Cassell seems to use a membership kind of analysis to determine that Atienzo was entitled to Fourth Amendment protections because of his ties to US society. Je seems to leave open the question whether some undocumented persons might not have the necessary contacts to warrant the protections. This is his second published opinion on the general topic.

KJ