“There is no due process when the government, who lost the argument in court, gets to do what they want anyway,” the lawsuit states.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska has filed a lawsuit claiming that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement broke the law when it prevented a woman’s family from posting bond.
In an August 1 press release announcing the lawsuit, the ACLU of Nebraska said that the lawsuit was filed on behalf of plaintiff Maria Reynosa Jacinto, a single mother who has been working in the United States for more than 20 years and who has a daughter who is a U.S. citizen.
Reynosa Jacinto was detained during an ICE raid on June’s Omaha Glenn Valley Foods.
After being detained, she was then transferred to the Lincoln County Detention Center in Platte, four hours from her home, despite a judge having granted Reynosa Jacinto release on bond several weeks earlier.
On July 15, attorneys say, an Omaha-based immigration court set bond in Reynosa Jacinto’s claim at $9,000. Her family, with the assistance of the Prairielands Freedom Fund, promptly posted bail, but were informed that ICE had issued an automatic stay preventing Reynosa Jacinto from being released.
The lawsuit alleges that ICE’s automatic stay violates Reynosa Jacinto’s Fifth Amendment right to due process and breaks federal law by overriding a valid court order.
“There is no due process when the government, who lost the argument in court, gets to do what they want anyway,” the lawsuit states.
Reynosa Jacinto’s daughter said in a statement that she is now struggling to hold her life together.
“I was in shock when my mom was detained, and it’s been incredibly hard since then. This is the longest that I’ve ever been apart from her. It’s just us two and she’s always been there for me, working hard to provide a better life for us both,” said Andrea Rafael Reynosa, the plaintiff’s 19-year-old daughter. “It really makes me emotional that she’s still where she is and I’m here by myself even though she should have been out weeks ago. I’m hoping with all my heart that the right thing is going to happen, and we’ll be reunited soon.”
“For decades, this automatic stay provision was used only in the rarest of cases, and for good reason: it halts an immigration court judge’s bond order instantly without any reason particular to the person and without any opportunity for them to be heard on the issue,” said Jennifer Houlden, the acting legal director of the ACLU of Nebraska. “We all have a right to due process under the law, including immigrant community members. The use of an automatic stay in situations like our client’s clearly violates that right. I am hopeful this case can correct this injustice, give our client a chance to post bond as the judge granted, and get her back with her daughter where she belongs.”
Sources
ACLU files challenge to prolonged jailing of immigrant snagged in Omaha ICE raid
Woman Taken in Omaha ICE Raid Challenges Ongoing Detention via ACLU Lawsuit
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