New Lawsuit Against Department of Homeland Security Alleges Day Laborers May Have Been Detained Unlawfully in Government “Sting”

We reported a few weeks ago the possibility of a lawsuit.  On December 14, 2006, five immigrants’ rights groups filed a lawsuit in federal court against the Department of Homeland Security seeking information about a sting operation that resulted in 11 workers being detained in Danbury, Connecticut. The lawsuit alleges that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is unlawfully withholding information about the sting. The plaintiffs – Danbury Area Coalition for the Rights of Immigrants, the Ecuadorian Civic Center of Danbury, JUNTA for Progressive Action, Inc., the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild, and Unidad Latina En Accion – are represented by law students who are part of the Jerome N. Frank Legal Services Organization at Yale Law School. The students also represent seven of the 11 day laborers in deportation hearings. If it can be determined from the information gathered in the lawsuit that the day laborers were detained unlawfully, the Yale students will argue that any evidence obtained against the day laborers must not be used by the government in the deportation hearings.

KJ