Keker, Van Nest & Peters attorneys Ellen Watlington and Claire Bonelli appeared in court with co-counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union on Wednesday to challenge the government’s "unprecedented campaign" of rearresting immigrants who have previously been detained and released by the government, The Recorder reported.
U.S. District Judge P. Casey Pitts heard arguments Tuesday in the lawsuit against Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The proposed class action alleges violations of the Fourth and Fifth Amendments of the Constitution and claims that ICE and the DHS breached the Administrative Procedure Act by failing to provide a "reasoned or adequate explanation" for the "dramatic shift from recent and longstanding agency policies."
During the hearing, Watlington argued that the defense admitted to ICE's new re-detention policy and to rearresting of individuals and contested that the change "constitutes final agency action,” The Recorder reported.
"Their main argument is that it's not final because it's not written down," she said. "That is wrong. Policies don't need to be written down to be final. And that makes sense, because if that were true, it would essentially gut the [Administrative Procedure Act]. Agencies could simply evade APA review by choosing not to put their policies in writing."
The case, Garro Pinchi v. Noem, was originally filed as a petition for habeas corpus on behalf of one plaintiff detained after an immigration court hearing. Pitts ordered her release after finding the detention unlawful. Keker and co-counsel filed an amended complaint that added two more plaintiffs and asserted claims on behalf of the proposed class.
According to the complaint, more than 100 noncitizens have been rearrested and re-detained by ICE in the San Francisco Bay Area despite attending immigration court hearings and ICE supervision check-ins.
"Many of our class members are asylum seekers and have well-founded fears of returning to their home countries," Keker partner Erin Meyer told The Recorder. "And the idea that they could, at any moment, be picked up and shipped off to a detention facility hours or states away from their families and their communities is incredibly traumatizing.
"My view is that this class action would have a huge impact on reducing that chaos and allow people to be with their families ... go to school, go to their jobs and live productive lives while trying to obtain the American dream ... These are people who just want to have their day in court, and ICE is preventing that."
The Keker team also includes Julia Allen, Jacquie Andreano, and Kayla Crowell.
Read the full report at The Recorder (subscription required).