U-Visa Holder Sues Pinal County (AZ) Sheriffs For Unlawful Arrest

"An Arizona woman spent five days in a Border Patrol jail after a traffic stop, when a sheriff's deputy told her he "was not interested" in her visa status, the ACLU claims in court.  Maria del Rosario Cortes Camacho sued Pinal County sheriff's Officers Chad Lakosky and Kristina Stoltz on Thursday in Federal Court.  Cortes was arrested just after Arizona's controversial "show me your papers" law, S.B. 1070, took effect.  The ACLU claims the arrested was unconstitutional.  Officer Lakosky pulled her over in Eloy, Ariz., in September 2012, for a cracked windshield.  Lakosky asked for her papers and Cortes told him that "she had a pending U-visa application, a copy of which was in her glove compartment.  Deputy Lakosky responded that he was not interested in those papers," according to the complaint.  Officer Stoltz arrived, handcuffed her, and took her to a Border Patrol office, where she spent five days, separated from her children.  "Lakosky and Stoltz unlawfully detained Ms. Cortes without any additional justification after the original purpose of the stop was completed, and beyond a reasonable time required to issue her citation, solely on the basis of her suspected or actual immigration status, and unlawfully arrested her by involuntarily transporting her under restraint from the location of the stop," the complaint states." - CNS, Sept. 26, 2014.