Young DACA and organizations indicate that federal agents pose as police
Osny Sorto-Vásquez Kidd said he was detained at his home just over a year ago by immigration agents posing as the local police. Now, along with other organizations, he filed a lawsuit against the entity to stop using this alleged practice.
The 25-year-old, who is a nurse assistant and a DACA beneficiary, said that agents from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE) arrived on the morning of October 3, 2018 at the building where he lives with the excuse that they were looking for a criminal.
When he went out to open the gate, he says that he was immediately arrested and that an agent told him that he was not a police officer but an ICE agent.
Sorto, of Honduran roots, was accused of having a final deportation order, was taken to a detention center in Adelanto, CA where he remained for three months.
"This has all been a traumatic experience, not only emotionally but also financially," said the young man with Honduran roots. “My mother and I are family providers and I have a sick little brother. It hurt a lot not to be there for what I needed. "
Following the incident, Sorto joined the Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice (ICIJ) and the Pro-Immigrant Coalition for Human Rights (CHIRLA) to file a class action lawsuit in the US District Court in Los Angeles to compel officers from ICE to stop using spoofing and other illegal practices during house arrests.
The lawsuit was filed Thursday by the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation (ACLU) of Southern California, the Immigrant Rights Clinic at the University of California, Irvine School of Law and the law firm Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP.
Michael Kaufman, senior attorney with the SoCal ACLU Foundation, said the lawsuit seeks to stop ICE tactics that violate the fundamental protections at home that the Constitution dictates.
In recent years, "ICE agents without court orders have used the tactic of tricking unsuspecting members of the community into allowing them to enter their homes," Kaufman said.
"These unfortunate actions follow a common pattern. ICE agents arrive in the morning knocking on doors and wear black clothes or uniforms with the word “police,” the lawyer explained in a conference call.
Once the immigrant or family member opens the door, officers say they are police investigating a crime or that the car of a resident of the home is having problems and asking them to leave.
"Only after the resident leaves or allows officers to enter, ICE agents reveal his true identity and purpose for arresting the person," Kaufman said.
He also added that ICE takes advantage of community members who want to help the police.
"For these reasons, state and local leaders have implored ICE to stop posing as the police because it undermines their efforts to ensure the public safety of our communities," said Kaufman.
Even more problematic is the fact that immigration arrests by ICE agents have been reported during the coronavirus pandemic, pro-immigrant activists said.
Although residents were ordered to stay indoors, many do not feel safe as they fear ICE will arrive at any time.
They can't enter the house
Professor Annie Lai, co-director of the UCI Legal Immigrant Rights Clinic, said the home is a place with a high level of protection under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution with some very limited exceptions.
"ICE agents, like other law enforcement entities, cannot enter the home or certain protected areas around the home without a court order or consent," Lai explained.
He added that when a law enforcement agency is going to arrest a person at their home they must have a court order.
"The type of impersonation that we are specifically challenging in this lawsuit is when ICE pretends to be another government agent, such as local or probation police to investigate a crime or conduct other fabricated government business," said the professor.
Lai emphasized that it is unconstitutional to try to participate in this type of deception, to obtain consent to enter the home.
The lawsuit filed yesterday as a "Class Action" requests an ICE statement accepting that its practices are illegal and a court order that ICE stop its illegal practices.
“There is a part of the case that is not a class action. And that is the claim for compensation for Osny Kidd (Sorto) for the damage he suffered, "said Lai.
He also indicated that although there is a limitation in the functions of the court due to the pandemic, the judges of the federal courts continue to work and therefore, the demand could be filed.
What does ICE say?
In response, ICE indicated that it cannot comment on pending litigation. However, he added that the word "POLICE" is a symbol universally recognized by law enforcement.
"In most cultures it is an important distinction since many of the people ICE interacts with do not speak English," said Alexx R. Pons, ICE spokesperson.
"Given the inherently dangerous nature of ICE agents' work, their ability to quickly establish their identities as sworn law enforcement personnel could mean the difference between life and death."
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