Lawsuit alleges ICE illegally withheld $300 million in bond money from immigrants
From Documented and the Associated Press:
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has failed to return an estimated $300 million in bond money to immigrant, according to a class action lawsuit filed earlier this week in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
While the suit claims $300 million in bond money has been withheld, the lawsuit notes that of that amount, $240 million has been owed for so long that it has been transferred to ICE’s unclaimed funds account in the U.S. Treasury Department — an account composed almost entirely of canceled bonds that were not paid out. It reportedly is the largest unclaimed funds Treasury account of any federal agency.
“The account is only continuing to balloon at a rate of approximately $10 million dollars per year,” the suit alleges. “Making matters worse, ICE (unlike several other agencies) has no mechanism to allow obligors to search its massive unclaimed-funds account, which would allow them to figure out whether ICE is holding money to which they are owed.”
The suit involves immigration bonds known as delivery bonds, which are like criminal bail bonds. Currently, the courts allow immigrants in removal proceedings to be released from detention while their cases are decided, provided they pay the bonds set by ICE and immigration judges.
After a bond is posted, the detained noncitizen is released from custody on the condition that they attend immigration court hearings. If the noncitizen appears, the bond is canceled and ICE is obligated to return the money. “Tens of thousands of people — many of whom come from low-wage immigrant families — have not received the money that they are owed under their contracts,” the lawsuit claims.
The lawsuit asks the court to declare that ICE is in violation of its bond contracts with the plaintiff and the class; award monetary relief for their cash deposits and applicable interest; and award the plaintiff and the class their costs and appropriate expenses associated with litigation.
The lawsuit is the result of an investigation by Envision Freedom Fund, an immigration bond fund and is supported by the Immigration Justice Clinic at Cardozo Law. Gupta Wessler LLP and Motley Rice LLC represent the plaintiffs.
KJ