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ICE Settles 'Sleeping While Latino' Home Invasion Lawsuit for $295K

December 20, 2012 (1 min read)

"Today, attorneys announced the settlement of a home raids case against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).  Seven men and women and one child brought the case in 2008 against more than thirty individual ICE officers for a series of predawn raids of their homes undertaken without consent or a warrant.

Said Center for Constitutional Rights Legal Director Baher Azmy, who began the litigation while at Seton Hall Law School, “Sleeping while Latino is not a crime. Agents cannot lie or force their way into people’s homes in the middle of the night, point guns at children and use force, all without a warrant or consent. This settlement provides accountability for discriminatory policing by immigration officials and shows that ICE is subject to the same restrictions as every other law enforcement agency.”
 
According to the complaint, in almost every raid armed ICE agents entered the home by force or deceit, rounded up everyone from their bedrooms, and used force, threats and intimidation, all in an effort to apprehend immigrants for deportation.  
 
One of the agents was yelling at legal permanent resident Ana Galindo, insisting that she tell him where the nonexistent “illegals” were hiding in her house, when her nine-year-old son ran in from his bedroom to see who was screaming at his mother.   The agent drew his gun and pointed it at the boy’s chest.  Ana spread her arms to shield him. 
 
“Other than when my mother and father died,” she said, “this is the worst thing I’ve ever lived through.  They could have killed my only child.”  Ana’s husband, Walter Chavez, added, “This settlement shows that when the government acts like this in America, we should not be quiet about it.  We should speak up to stop them from doing this to other people.”
 
The case, Argueta v. ICE, charged that the individual ICE agents violated the plaintiffs’ Fourth Amendment right to be free from nonconsensual, warrantless entry into their homes and from shocking and abusive governmental conduct once agents were inside the home.
Under the settlement, the eight plaintiffs will receive a total of $295,000 in compensation." - CCR, Dec. 17, 2012.

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