Judge curbs ICE arrest powers in Oregon as threshold raised
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents can no longer randomly arrest people during raids in Oregon, a judge has ruled.
The actions of federal agents have come under international scrutiny in recent months, after two people were shot and killed by officers in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
ICU nurse Alex Pretti and mom Renee Nicole Good were killed in separate incidents last month.
Pretti had been protesting ICE when he was shot dead, while Good was behind the wheel of her car, having dropped her child off at school.
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Their deaths come after months of increased ICE activity under President Donald Trump, who vowed to crack down on immigration on his return to the White House.
On Wednesday (February 4), Oregon District Judge Mustafa Kasubhai issued a temporary measure for ICE agents to stop arresting people without warrants unless there's a likelihood of escape, the Associated Press reports.
The move was in response to a proposed class-action lawsuit lodged by nonprofit law firm Innovation Law Lab, against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
ICE policy says agents should only arrest without a warrant if they have probable cause and the person is likely to flee before a warrant can be obtained.
However, testimony alleged this wasn’t happening consistently in Oregon, with officers being accused of ignoring usual procedure.
It comes as more than 1,000 daily arrests by ICE officers were recorded in 'states that fully collaborate with the Trump administration', according to the Prison Policy Initiative and government data provided by ICE and processed by the Deportation Data Project.
Almost half of these arrests (48 percent) occurred 'out of local jails and other lock-ups'.
Judge Kasubhai said the actions of agents in Oregon have been 'violent and brutal', and he was concerned about the administration denying due process to those swept up in immigration raids.
"Due process calls for those who have great power to exercise great restraint," he said. "That is the bedrock of a democratic republic founded on this great constitution. I think we're losing that."
The judge heard from Victor Cruz Gamez, a 56-year-old grandfather who has lived in the US since 1999, who testified that he was arrested by immigration agents during a traffic stop despite having a valid work permit and a pending visa application.
He was allegedly detained for three weeks and nearly deported before a lawyer was able to secure his release.
Stephen Manning, executive director of Innovation Law Lab, said he was confident the case would be a 'catalyst for change here in Oregon'.
"That is fundamentally what this case is about: asking the government to follow the law," he said during the hearing.
Similar arrest rulings have happened in Colorado and Washington, D.C., although they're being appealed by the federal government.
Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told UNILAD: "Let’s drop the charade. This case isn’t really about arrest procedures or legal standards. At root, this case and all the others like it are about open-borders groups and activist judges doing everything in their power to stop the will of the American people and prevent the Trump administration from fulfilling the President’s mandate to deport the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens. It won’t work. DHS conducts enforcement operations in line with the U.S. Constitution and all applicable federal laws without fear, favor, or prejudice and will continue to do so.
"Every illegal alien who DHS serves administrative warrants/I-205s have had full due process and a final order of removal from an immigration judge. Refusing to comply makes these aliens fugitives of the law.The officers issuing these administrative warrants also have found probable cause. For decades, the Supreme Court and Congress have recognized the propriety of administrative warrants in cases of immigration enforcement."
Topics: Immigration, Donald Trump, US News
Ellie Kemp