Groups want plaintiffs in immigration lawsuit to be anonymous

Published: Sunday, July 10, 2011, 11:18 PM Updated: Sunday, July 10, 2011, 11:19 PM

By Kent Faulk -- The Birmingham News


BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- Groups that filed a federal lawsuit challenging Alabama's new immigration law are asking a judge to allow a dozen plaintiffs in the case to remain anonymous during the case for fear of reprisals and possible deportation for some families.

Attorneys for the American Civil Liberties Union, Southern Poverty Law Center and other groups on Friday filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Huntsville. The lawsuit asks the court to declare Alabama's immigration law unconstitutional and to stop state officials from enforcing it.

Attorneys with the groups that filed the lawsuit also filed a motion Friday asking that six "Jane Doe" and six "John Doe" plaintiffs be allowed to remain in the lawsuit under those pseudonyms. Lawyers cited several different reasons for the anonymity.

Disclosure of the identities of those people "would seriously jeopardize the very constitutional protections that they and the other plaintiffs seek to vindicate in this lawsuit," according to a memorandum supporting the motion. "The Doe Plaintiffs reasonably fear that, if their identities were to become public, there would be an increased risk that they or their family members would be subjected to unconstitutional detention by state or local law enforcement officials acting under the auspices of HB 56 (the state immigration act). They also fear that they or their family members could suffer adverse immigration consequences, including immigration detention, the initiation of removal proceedings, and removal from the United States."

The issue of immigration in general and the new law "have been the subject of intense and heated debate in Alabama," the memorandum states. "In this highly charged atmosphere, the Doe Plaintiffs fear harassment, retaliation, and even physical harm if their identities and personal stories are disclosed publicly."

One of the attorneys in the case said Sunday that the new Alabama law criminalizes the conduct of people for even mundane acts like giving someone who is not legally in the country a ride to the store.

"While we expect that we will prevail in court, there is always a chance that we might not, and the law is clear that when a person is challenging a new criminal law, it is appropriate to shield that person's identity since the person will be admitting potentially criminal conduct by being a part of the lawsuit (such as driving a friend to the corner store)," Sam Brooke, staff attorney with the Immigrant Justice Project at the Southern Poverty Law Center, wrote in an email response to questions on Sunday.

"Also, this new Alabama law has been so divisive that it is reasonable to expect some backlash from ardent supporters of this law for anyone identified as being a part of this lawsuit. Some of our plaintiffs are courageously willing to identify themselves, but no one should be forced under these circumstances to do so in order to have their day in court," Brooke wrote.

Brooke said that in every state where pseudonyms were requested for plaintiffs in lawsuits challenging state immigrations laws, including Arizona, Utah, and Georgia, it was permitted.

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