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Joined: Aug 05, 2008 Posts: 12775 Location: PARADISE (San Diego)
Posted: Wed Oct 28, 2009 5:55 pm Post subject: Immigrants: Conn. raid retaliation for ID cards
Immigrants: Conn. raid retaliation for ID cards
By JOHN CHRISTOFFERSEN, The Associated Press
12:55 p.m. October 28, 2009
NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Ten New Haven residents filed a lawsuit Wednesday accusing federal agents of violating their rights during an immigration raid they say was in retaliation for a city program that provided ID cards to foreigners in the country illegally – the first of its kind in the nation.
The sweeps in New Haven on June 6, 2007, came two days after the city approved issuing identification cards to all of its residents, regardless of immigration status. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials have denied that the early morning raids were retaliatory, saying planning began the year before.
"The New Haven raids were not a product of routine immigration enforcement," the lawsuit states. "Hartford ICE agents deliberately chose to conduct raids in New Haven in retaliation for the city's efforts to improve public safety for all its residents by integrating immigrants and Latinos into civic life."
Spokesmen for the U.S. Attorney's office and ICE declined comment, citing the pending lawsuit.
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court, cites e-mails between federal officials that the residents say show hostility to the ID card program and an intent to stop it.
One e-mail from the U.S. Attorney's Office on March 28, 2007 disclosed that an ICE official "had been talking to his headquarters about the fact that New Haven is becoming a sanctuary city." On May 11, the ICE official held a conference call with several prosecutors to discuss how to address the "headaches in New Haven," according to the lawsuit.
The comments took on a racially charged tone after a city committee approved the ID card program, the lawsuit alleges. "Yale is loading up the Amistad with illegal immigrants and sailing them to freedom, while (ICE counsel) openly weeps in Hartford," an ICE attorney wrote, referring to the slave ship that was commandeered by African captives who eventually won their freedom.
An ICE official then drafted a letter to the city expressing concerns with the program and discouraging the mayor from implementing it, according to the lawsuit. ICE officials and the U.S. Attorney's Office agreed to disguise their collaboration to make it look like the letter was coming from prosecutors instead of ICE, the lawsuit alleges.
The defendants then planned their first and only raid of the year, including only 33 New Haven-area addresses in their target list when there were 5,500 outstanding warrants for fugitives, the lawsuit says.
The lawsuit contends ICE's retaliatory intent became clear after the raid when a spokesman declared, "There is truly no safe haven for fugitive aliens."
The lawsuit alleges ICE agents broke into homes without search warrants or consent and arrested residents based on their race or ethnicity. When the girlfriend of one of those arrested asked where they were going during the raid, one of the agents laughed and taunted that they were going to a concert by Juan Gabriel, a famous Mexican singer, according to the lawsuit.
"ICE agents broke into my home without permission while I was still sleeping, pulled the covers from my bed, and arrested me for no reason," Jose Solano-Yangua, a plaintiff, said in a statement. "I was terrified and humiliated."
In June, a federal judge ruled that agents violated the constitutional rights of four immigrants in the raids. Immigration Judge Michael Straus said the ICE agents went into the immigrants' homes without warrants, probable cause or their consent, and he put a stop to deportation proceedings against the four defendants, whose names were not released.
Immigration officials have denied claims that the 32 arrests that morning were improper, and they said the people who were arrested had been ordered by judges to leave the country. They said in court documents that they were allowed into the homes during the sweep.
Witnesses have alleged in court documents that parents were arrested in front of their frightened children, agents refused to identify themselves and told people in the homes to shut up.
Yale Law School students are representing the immigrants.
Of the 32 arrested, none are still in custody, according to the Yale students. Of the 19 that Yale represents, 4 agreed to leave the country, 10 are still fighting their cases and five won motions to suppress evidence, according to the students.
The lawsuit, which names former and current ICE officials as defendants, seeks damages and a judgment that the officials violated the Constitution.
New Haven Immigration Lawyers Take The Fight To ICE
by Thomas MacMillan | October 27, 2009 5:59 PM |
(Updated with text of lawsuit.)
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.
Read the lawsuit here.
In a statement released by the Yale lawyers, one of the plaintiffs describes his experience of the raids. “‘ICE agents broke into my home without permission while I was still sleeping, pulled the covers from my bed, and arrested me for no reason,’ said Jose Solano-Yangua, a plaintiff in the case. ‘I was terrified and humiliated. We are bringing this suit, because we refuse to let our families and community live in fear.’”
There are three different types of defendants, said Valarie Kaur, a Yale student working on the case.
The first level is the ICE agents who “directly participated in the raids.” These agents violated Fourth Amendment rights by entering homes without warrants and without consent, Kaur said.
The second level of defendant is a group of ICE officials in Hartford who were “mobilizing against” New Haven because of the Elm City identity cards, Kaur said. It’s no coincidence that the raids were conducted just 36 hours after the ID card program started, the lawyers argue.
Evidence supporting the retaliation charge comes from ICE emails gathered after a Freedom of Information Act request by local Latino-advocacy groups Unidad Latino En Accion and Junta For Progressive Action, Kaur said. The memos show that ICE officials were closely monitoring the progress of the ID card program, criticizing it, and planning to try to stop it, she said. Further, the emails also demonstrate that the officials were “trying to cover up collaboration” as they went.
The third level of defendants is a group of senior ICE officials. They were pushing arrest quotas for immigrants “without adequate supervision and training to prevent constitutional violations,” Kaur said.
The three levels of defendants “all share responsibility for the suffering” of the individuals who were arrested in 2007, Kaur said.
The plaintiffs seek damages and declaratory relief.
In an email message, ICE spokesperson Paula Grenier wrote, “ICE does not comment on matters pending before a court.”
ROFL! Yeah right, I guess the fugitive warrants had nothing to do with it, huh? Quit your whining and get out! _________________ "If you love our nation, STOP illegal immigration!"
Joined: Jan 02, 2008 Posts: 5878 Location: Mexifornia
Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2009 12:25 am Post subject:
Quote:
Ten New Haven residents filed a lawsuit Wednesday accusing federal agents of violating their rights during an immigration raid they say was in retaliation for a city program that provided ID cards to foreigners in the country illegally – the first of its kind in the nation.
The assault on this country and our citizens by these V*******V invaders never ends does it!!!
Joined: May 22, 2006 Posts: 28628 Location: Mexifornia
Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2009 12:02 am Post subject:
Illegal Aliens Sue ICE Over Arrests
Last Updated: Fri, 10/30/2009 - 11:04am
A group of illegal immigrants recently spared deportation by a sympathetic Connecticut judge are suing the federal agents that arrested them, claiming their constitutional rights were violated in the raids that led to their apprehension.
The illegal aliens, who live in New Haven, assert in a federal lawsuit that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents violated their rights during an early-morning fugitive operation in 2007 that led to the arrest of 30 people. Seventeen of them were subsequently charged with being in the U.S. illegally and a group of law students from a nearby Ivy League university represented them pro bono.
In August a federal judge (Michael Straus) in Connecticut blocked the deportation of four of the illegal aliens, ruling that their constitutional rights were “egregiously violated” because immigration agents entered their apartments without a warrant, probable cause or consent. Besides terminating removal proceedings, the judge suppressed any evidence gathered by federal agents because the illegal aliens’ constitutional protections to due process were violated.
Evidently emboldened by the ruling, the illegal immigrants are now suing the agents who conducted the raids, their supervisors and senior ICE officials. Weapons drawn, agents entered the illegal aliens’ homes without cause, consent or search warrants, according to the complaint filed this week. It further says that authorities had not previously determined that most of the arrested were in violation of immigration law and therefore had no reason to assume that they lacked legal status.
The lawsuit also declares that the feds deliberately conducted raids in New Haven to retaliate against the city for its well-known efforts to accommodate illegal immigrants. A few years ago New Haven became the nation’s first to offer illegal aliens official identification cards so that they can enjoy public services and integrate into the community. San Francisco followed its lead and began offering illegal immigrants ID cards this year.
The irony is that, when Local and State governments try to enforce immigration laws, the pro-illegal-alien supporters whine, "It's a Federal issue".
So when ICE & the Federal Government go about enforcing immigration laws in New Haven, they whine that "their civil rights are being violated".
So they don't approve of our Federal Government enforcing our immigration laws either. What nonsense.
There is so much anger in me when I read things like this. Fortunately, I control it but I have to wonder how many people are out there, legal and illegal, who are not going to be able to control themselves after a while? This is a worrisome thing for me and I really don't like to think what this could all come to.
Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2009 4:28 am Post subject: Illegals suing?
PatrioticMe wrote:
sunlandbob wrote:
The irony is that, when Local and State governments try to enforce immigration laws, the pro-illegal-alien supporters whine, "It's a Federal issue".
So when ICE & the Federal Government go about enforcing immigration laws in New Haven, they whine that "their civil rights are being violated".
So they don't approve of our Federal Government enforcing our immigration laws either. What nonsense.
There is so much anger in me when I read things like this. Fortunately, I control it but I have to wonder how many people are out there, legal and illegal, who are not going to be able to control themselves after a while? This is a worrisome thing for me and I really don't like to think what this could all come to.
How can they sue us if they're here illegally? They HAVE no constitutional rights!
They should kick that judge off the bench for this. See what he caused? I bet he's sorry now!
Joined: Jan 27, 2009 Posts: 1248 Location: A Midwest State in North Amerimexico
Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2009 7:47 am Post subject:
PatrioticMe wrote:
sunlandbob wrote:
The irony is that, when Local and State governments try to enforce immigration laws, the pro-illegal-alien supporters whine, "It's a Federal issue".
So when ICE & the Federal Government go about enforcing immigration laws in New Haven, they whine that "their civil rights are being violated".
So they don't approve of our Federal Government enforcing our immigration laws either. What nonsense.
There is so much anger in me when I read things like this. Fortunately, I control it but I have to wonder how many people are out there, legal and illegal, who are not going to be able to control themselves after a while? This is a worrisome thing for me and I really don't like to think what this could all come to.
If it does come to that, our elected officials should be the first to experience the brunt of it. They're the ones who know full well the large majority of Americans want it stopped, and have for a VERY long time. They're the ones who continue to allow these things to happen.
Hopefully, Americans can force them to change this by peaceful means. But there really is NOT much time left for that. We MUST make sure that they all hear us loud and clear. Current officials, and candidates in 2010.
Those Americans who have allowed themselves to be silenced until now, need to stand up and shout loudly, and more importantly take action. A candidate's stance on illegal immigration MUST be a priority issue in the 2010 elections. We need to make it clear to the politicians it is a priority for us, regardless of whether or not they want it to be.
The irony is that, when Local and State governments try to enforce immigration laws, the pro-illegal-alien supporters whine, "It's a Federal issue".
So when ICE & the Federal Government go about enforcing immigration laws in New Haven, they whine that "their civil rights are being violated".
So they don't approve of our Federal Government enforcing our immigration laws either. What nonsense.
There is so much anger in me when I read things like this. Fortunately, I control it but I have to wonder how many people are out there, legal and illegal, who are not going to be able to control themselves after a while? This is a worrisome thing for me and I really don't like to think what this could all come to.
If it does come to that, our elected officials should be the first to experience the brunt of it. They're the ones who know full well the large majority of Americans want it stopped, and have for a VERY long time. They're the ones who continue to allow these things to happen.
Hopefully, Americans can force them to change this by peaceful means. But there really is NOT much time left for that. We MUST make sure that they all hear us loud and clear. Current officials, and candidates in 2010.
Those Americans who have allowed themselves to be silenced until now, need to stand up and shout loudly, and more importantly take action. A candidate's stance on illegal immigration MUST be a priority issue in the 2010 elections. We need to make it clear to the politicians it is a priority for us, regardless of whether or not they want it to be.
I am hopeful that the American citizenry will shout long and loud at the upcoming elections but I have my doubts. Although most of the legal residents of this nation are against illegal immigration and amnesty, I'm not very sure how man of them are aware of which candidates are anti-illegal immigration and anti-American. These are the Americans who watch too much of the MSM and don't read alternative views enough. I pray I'm wrong and that Americans are becoming more educated.
In 2008, during the Presidential debates they seldom allowed illegal immigration to be brought up, and positioned those contenders who would have helped this nation in terms of this problem as well as others, as bookends. They hardly let them speak and when they did, they were ridiculed by the MSM...and look what happened. Still, I hope.
I believe a lot of the problems our nation faces will get much worse before they get better...if they get better. It worries me; not so much for my own sake but for the sake of my children and their children. Looking at what our nation faces now, we sure won't be leaving our children a nation that was nearly as good as the one our parents gave us. So far, we have failed them miserably but my hope is that we will still pull ourselves up by our bootstraps and keep working, keep fighting until we get this nation turned around and back to the greatness we once had. I get discouraged, I feel overwhelmed and still, I am hopeful.
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Still, I hope.