Four D.C. residents and CASA have filed a class-action lawsuit against the Trump administration, alleging unlawful immigration arrests by ICE agents that have instilled fear in local immigrant communities.
A class-action lawsuit has been filed against the Trump administration by four Washington, D.C. residents and the national immigration organization CASA. The lawsuit alleges that federal agents have conducted a series of illegal immigration arrests across the District since August, creating widespread fear among immigrant communities.
Filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the lawsuit challenges what the plaintiffs describe as a pattern of arrests made without warrants or probable cause, which they argue violates federal immigration law. According to the law, agents are permitted to detain individuals without a warrant only if they can demonstrate probable cause that the person is unlawfully present in the country and poses a flight risk.
The plaintiffs contend that these legal safeguards have been disregarded. Each individual involved in the lawsuit claims to have been arrested without a warrant, subsequently detained, and later released. CASA, one of the plaintiffs, stated that the recent crackdown has compelled the organization to redirect its resources from social services to crisis response for community members who have been detained.
Elias, a CASA member and one of the plaintiffs, recounted his harrowing experience: “On my way to a life-saving dialysis appointment, I was detained by ICE one mile from the hospital. They ignored my U.S. driver’s license and left me without critical treatment that day, putting my health in immediate danger. I was detained for over eight hours without food or access to my necessary medicine. Since then, I have lived in fear that I could be torn from my family and deported to a place where I cannot get the medical care I need to survive. No one should be treated this way. I am standing up in this lawsuit to make sure ICE is held accountable and stops these unlawful arrests from destroying more lives.”
Advocates for immigrant rights have expressed concern that these practices have fostered an atmosphere of fear. Adina Appelbaum, program director of the Immigration Impact Lab at the Amica Center for Immigrant Rights, stated, “Families should not have to live in fear that simply walking to school, going to work, or attending a doctor’s appointment will result in being abducted and dragged away by federal agents without cause. ICE’s wide-sweeping arrests in D.C. are not just cruel; they are blatantly unlawful.”
The plaintiffs are represented by a coalition of organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of the District of Columbia, the Amica Center for Immigrant Rights, CASA, the National Immigration Project, the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, and the law firm Covington & Burling LLP.
Aditi Shah, a staff attorney with the ACLU of D.C., emphasized the disruptive nature of the federal government’s actions. “The government’s policy and practice of arresting people without probable cause are illegal and have disrupted everyday life in the District. The policy and practice disregard important limits Congress has established for immigration arrests and have sown terror among immigrant communities and neighborhoods in D.C. Federal agents, like the rest of us, must follow the law,” she said.
This lawsuit arises in the context of President Trump’s declaration of a “crime emergency” in Washington, D.C., made in August. This declaration led to the deployment of federal law enforcement agents, including ICE, and authorized the Department of Justice to direct the Metropolitan Police Department to assist with immigration enforcement. Although the emergency period has since ended, federal immigration arrests in the city have persisted.
Yulie Landan, a staff attorney with the National Immigration Project, remarked, “For weeks, immigrant communities in D.C. have been living in a state of terror and disruption caused by a policy of indiscriminate targeting being carried out by immigration officials.”
CASA leaders have expressed their determination to combat these practices. Ama Frimpong, legal director at CASA, stated, “CASA members who live and work in D.C. are being targeted by immigration officials simply for existing. With this lawsuit, our members are making it clear: they have had enough of the federal government’s lawlessness and abuse of power. They will not be intimidated or silenced. They will continue to fight until the government is held accountable.”
Madeleine Gates, associate counsel at the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, added that the fear extends beyond undocumented immigrants. “The federal government has created a culture of fear in D.C., including among U.S. citizens and immigrants with legal status,” she said. “People are justifiably afraid to go to work or even to walk their kids to school. We are determined to end this unlawful policy.”
A virtual press conference featuring the plaintiffs is scheduled for Friday, September 26, at 12:30 p.m. Eastern Time.
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