Federal Court: Constitution Bars Warrantless Detention for Immigration Violations by Local Government
The Los Angeles Times reports that a federal judge has ruled that police departments violate the Constitution if they detain inmates at the request of immigration agents, marking the latest legal setback for the Trump administration’s plans to identify and deport immigrants in the country illegally.
In his order issued Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Andre Birotte Jr. found that a now-defunct policy of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department violated the constitutional rights of inmates who were kept in custody at the behest of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.
Birotte’s strongly worded order bolstered similar previous court rulings, which found police cannot legally honor such detainer requests from ICE.
“The LASD officers have no authority to arrest individuals for civil immigration offenses, and thus, detaining individuals beyond their date for release violated the individuals’ Fourth Amendment rights,” Birotte wrote.
KJ