Chicago attorneys with the National Immigrant Justice Center and the ACLU of Illinois accused the federal government of violating immigration law and the constitutional rights of at least 22 people who were arrested and detained in the Midwest since President Donald Trump’s inauguration as part of his crackdown on immigration.
Two people are still in custody, 19 were released on bond and one has already been deported.
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Attorneys say these actions violate the Nava Settlement — a 2018 class-action lawsuit filed in response to unlawful arrests by ICE agents who used traffic stops and other tactics to make arrests without a warrant. Under the agreement, ICE officials can conduct a warrantless arrest if they believe an individual is likely to escape, but they must provide evidence. In the motion filed Thursday in federal court in Chicago, attorneys said federal agents since January had “failed to assess whether there was probable cause that an individual was likely to flee before a warrant could be issued.”
