AELE LAW LIBRARY OF CASE SUMMARIES:
Civil Liability of
Law Enforcement Agencies & Personnel
Back to list of subjects Back to Legal Publications Menu
Immigrants & Immigration Issues
A federal appeals court has upheld a ruling in favor of Rhode Island municipalities in their lawsuit seeking to invalidate the conditions that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) imposed on the cities in connection with the allocation of federal law enforcement grants. The appeals court held that the DOJ lacked authority to impose the challenged conditions. When state and local governments refused to assist wholeheartedly in federal enforcement of immigration-related laws, the DOJ in an attempt to punish “sanctuary” cities, purported to condition unrelated federal law enforcement grants on the provision of the governments’ assistance with the enforcement of the immigration-related laws. Two Rhode Island cities - Providence and Central Falls - brought this lawsuit seeking to enjoin the DOJ from imposing the challenged conditions on their grants. The trial court granted summary judgment for the cities, concluding that the DOJ exceeded its statutory authority in imposing the challenged conditions on the grants. The federal appeals court affirmed, holding that the DOJ was not vested with the authority to impose the challenged conditions on the cities’ grants. City of Providence v. U.S. Dept. of Justice, #19-1802, 954 F.3d 23 (1st Cir. 2020).
A U.S. citizen arrested for lewdness appealed the dismissal of his lawsuit claiming that he was then further wrongfully detained for four days by local authorities under a federal immigration detainer. A federal appeals court ruled that the trial court mistakenly rejected the plaintiff’s false arrest and false imprisonment claims against the government, because no reasonable officer would have issued the detainer under the circumstances without conducting an inquiry Additionally, the lawsuit alleged facts from which a reasonable inquiry would have revealed that the plaintiff was a citizen who could not have been subject to an immigration detainer. The appeals court also held that the trial court erred as to the plaintiff’s official policy claim against the city, because the complaint plausibly alleged that but for the detainer, he would have been released, and that the city confined him not for his failure to post bail but because of the detainer. The complaint also plausibly alleged that the city refused to release the plaintiff because of its official policy, that the city would have seen that plaintiff was not subject to an immigration detainer if it had checked, and that the city policy caused the plaintiff’s deprivation of his rights. Hernandez v. U.S., #18-1103, 939 F.3d 191 (2nd Cir. 2019).
The city of Los Angeles, California filed a lawsuit challenging the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) use of certain factors in determining scores for applicants to a competitive grant program. The Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) grant program distributes a limited amount of federal funds to state and local law enforcement applicants under the Public Safety Partnership and Community Policing Act, enacted as part of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act. In this case, the DOJ gives additional points to applicants that choose to focus on the illegal immigration area (instead of other focus areas) and gives additional points to an applicant who agrees to the Certification of Illegal Immigration Cooperation. This was part of an effort intended to sanction so-called “sanctuary” cities that decline to cooperate with federal authorities in immigration law enforcement. A federal appeals court ruled that the use of these two factors in evaluating applicants for the competitive grant program did not violate the Spending Clause of the U.S. Constitution, did not exceed the DOJ's statutory authority, and did not violate the federal Administrative Procedure Act. City of Los Angeles v. Barr, #18-55599, 2019 U.S. App. Lexis 20706, 2019 WL 3049129 (9th Cir.).
A federal appeals court upheld summary judgment for the federal government in a lawsuit by a foreign national from Honduras under the Federal Tort Claims Act, claiming that he was falsely imprisoned by federal immigration authorities. The trial court correctly determined that Border Patrol and ICE agents acted with authority of law to arrest and detain the plaintiff, who illegally entered the United States, at which time Border Patrol agents lawfully apprehended him. Hernandez Najera v. United States, #17-41212, 2019 U.S. App. Lexis 16954 (5th Cir.).
Nine Latino men living in areas of Northern Virginia with many residents of Latino ethnicity, filed suit against federal immigration agents, seeking money damages for the ICE agents’ alleged violations of their rights under the Fourth and Fifth Amendments. They claimed that ICE agents stopped and detained them without a reasonable, articulable suspicion of unlawful activity; invaded their homes without a warrant, consent, or probable cause; and seized them illegally while engaged in enforcing immigration law. A federal appeals court overturned the denial of the ICE agents’ motion to dismiss the lawsuit based on qualified immunity. It held that a remedy for the alleged constitutional violations was not available under Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of Federal Bureau of Narcotics, #301, 403 U.S. 388 (1971), under the circumstances of this case. There is no statute authorizing a claim for money damages for such violations, and it was a significant step under separation-of-powers principles for a court to impose damages liability on federal officials. Because the plaintiffs sought to extend Bivens liability to a context the U.S. Supreme Court has yet to recognize and there are special factors counseling hesitation in the absence of affirmative action by Congress, the plaintiffs’ action for damages was dismissed. Tun-Cos v. Perrotte, #18-1451, 2019 U.S. App. Lexis 12571 (4th Cir.).
The federal government filed suit against the state of California challenging its enactment of three “sanctuary state” laws designed to protect state residents from enforcement of federal immigration laws. The three statutes are AB 450, which requires employers to alert employees before federal immigration inspections, AB 103, which imposes inspection requirements on facilities that house civil immigration detainees, and SB 54, which limits the cooperation between state and local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities. A federal appeals court found that it was no abuse of discretion to conclude that AB 450’s employee-notice provisions neither burden the federal government nor conflict with federal activities, and that any obstruction caused by SB 54 is consistent with California’s prerogatives under the Tenth Amendment and the anticommandeering rule. The denial of a preliminary injunction as to these laws was therefore upheld. The court also upheld the trial court's denial of a preliminary injunction as to provisions of AB 103 that duplicated inspection requirements otherwise mandated under California law. However, the court held that one subsection of AB 103, codified at California Government Code section 12532(b)(1)(C), discriminates against and impermissibly burdens the federal government, and so is unlawful under the doctrine of intergovernmental immunity. Therefore, the court reversed the preliminary injunction order as to this part and ordered further proceedings. U.S. v. California, #18-16496, 921 F.3d 865 (9th Cir. 2019).
In 2015, the San Francisco sheriff issued a memo establishing protocols and parameters for communications between the sheriff’s department employees and ICE. It stated that employees “shall not provide” “non-public” information to ICE, including “release dates or times,” Days later, ICE sent a detainer request asking the sheriff’s department to notify ICE before releasing undocumented alien, Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez, and to hold him until ICE could take custody of him. He was released without any notice of his release date being sent to ICE. He subsequently shot and killed the plaintiffs’ daughter, a 32-year-old woman, after he was released. Following the shooting, ICE issued a statement that said, in part, “If the local authorities had merely notified [U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement] that they were about to release this individual into the community, ICE could have taken custody of him and had him removed from the country—thus preventing this terrible tragedy.”A federal appeals court upheld the dismissal of a general negligence claim against city defendants. While the court expressed sympathy with the plaintiffs, the issue of discretionary immunity was controlled by California law. The court found that the issuance of the memo was a discretionary act that was entitled to immunity under section 820.2 of the California Government Code. California law, therefore, barred the plaintiffs’ negligence claim. The court rejected the plaintiffs’ argument that the Memo was a legislative act stripping the sheriff of discretionary act immunity. The failure to provide ICE with the alien’s release date in fact violated the California Public Records Act; and the memo violated California Health and Safety Code section 11369. Steinle v. City and County of San Francisco, #17-16283, 2019 U.S. App. Lexis 8784, 2019 WL 1323172 (9th Cir.).
The city of Philadelphia has received funds under the federal Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program every year since the program’s 2006 inception. The Justice Department, as part of a crackdown on so-called “sanctuary cities,” notified the city that it was withholding its FY2017 award because the city was not in compliance with three newly implemented conditions that required greater coordination with federal officials on matters of immigration enforcement. The city filed suit and was awarded summary judgment. The federal appeals court affirmed the order to the extent that it enjoins enforcement of the challenged conditions against the city and vacated the order to the extent it imposed a requirement that the federal government obtain a judicial warrant before seeking custody of aliens in city custody. Where, as here, the Executive Branch claims authority not granted to it in the Constitution, it “literally has no power to act … unless and until Congress confers power upon it.” Congress did not grant the Attorney General this authority and the Challenged Conditions were unlawfully imposed. The Byrne statute itself provides no such authority and the conditions are not authorized by 34 U.S.C. 10102, the provision establishing the “Duties and Functions of Assistant Attorney General.” City of Philadelphia v. Attorney General of the United States, #18-2648, 2019 U.S. App. Lexis 4710, 2019 WL 638931 (3d Cir.).
A woman entered the U.S. illegally. She was then detained in the custody of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection. She subsequently signed a form indicating her decision to repatriate voluntarily. She was killed by her ex-boyfriend shortly after returning to Mexico, and had allegedly expressed her fear of him to the border agent. The plaintiffs alleged that she was coerced into signing the voluntary removal form and was denied her due process rights, causing her death, suing a customs agent and his supervisor under Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of Federal Bureau of Narcotics, #301, 403 U.S. 388, 91 S. Ct. 1999 (1971), providing a direct remedy against federal employees for violations of constitutional rights. A federal appeals court upheld summary judgment for the defendants, ruling that special factors precluded the extension of a Bivens remedy to this new context. The court also held that the defendants were entitled to qualified immunity where the agent’s conduct was not objectively unreasonable. Maria S. v. Doe, #17-40873, 2019 U.S. App. Lexis 306 (5th Cir.).
A federal appeals court upheld a man’s conviction for possessing a firearm while being an alien unlawfully in the United States. The court assumed, without deciding, that unlawful aliens in the United States held some degree of rights under the Second Amendment and held that 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(5) is constitutional under intermediate scrutiny. The court ruled that the government’s interests in controlling crime and ensuring public safety are promoted by keeping firearms out of the hands of unlawful aliens—who are subject to removal, are difficult to monitor due to an inherent incentive to falsify information and evade law enforcement, and have already shown that they are unable or unwilling to conform their conduct to the laws of this country. United States v. Torres, #15-10492, 2019 U.S. App. Lexis 514 (9th Cir.).
The
plaintiffs, who were illegal aliens, sought to pursue Bivens civil rights
claims against federal border patrol agents who allegedly illegally stopped and
arrested them. A federal appeals court, noting that it had not previously
extended Bivens civil rights actions to include claims arising from civil
immigration apprehensions and detentions, other than those involving excessive
force, declined to do so. It further found that the comprehensive rules and
remedies found in immigration statutes and regulations precluded "crafting"
an implied damages remedy. Allowing claims for damages in this context, which
were likely to be minimal, would be unlikely to provide significant additional
deterrence to illegal acts, and the court also noted that there were serious
separation of powers issues that would be implicated in trying to do so. De La
Paz v. Coy, #13-50768, 2015 U.S. App. Lexis 7977 (5th Cir.).
Deputies, after
questioning a woman at her workplace, effectively seized her when one of them
gestured for her to stay seated because they had found out that there was an
outstanding civil immigration warrant for her. This violated the Fourth
Amendment, as they needed the express authorization or direction of federal
immigration authorities to make such a seizure, but both they and the sheriff
were entitled to qualified immunity, since it was not clearly established law
that state and local law enforcement officers may not detain or arrest a person
on the basis of a civil immigration warrant. Such qualified immunity did not apply
to municipal defendants, however. Santos v. Frederick County Board, #12-1980, 2013 U.S. App.
Lexis 16335 (4th Cir.).
Federal immigration authorities entered into a $1
million settlement agreement with 22 Latinos whose rights were allegedly
violated when agents entered private homes in early morning raids without
search warrants looking for immigration law violations. The plaintiffs included
U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and some whose immigration status was in
dispute. The settlement also requires the adoption of a new policy requiring
that agents not enter private homes without search warrants. The settlement
also mandates expanded use of Spanish speaking agents who can communicate in
that language with occupants of a residence when necessary, and bars the use of
evidence obtained in the raids in immigration proceedings. Aguilar v.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement, #07-Civ.-8224, U.S. Dist. Ct. (S.D.N.Y.
April 4, 2013).
An Arizona state law made it illegal for a
motorist to hire or attempt to hire a person for work from a stopped car that
impedes traffic or for a person to be hired in this manner. While the city did
have a significant interest in promoting traffic safety, the day labor
provision, largely targeting illegal immigrants imposed restrictions on
constitutionally protected commercial speech that could be viewed as more
extensive than needed to serve that interest. The appeals court upheld a
preliminary injunction against the enforcement of that portion of the statute.
Valle del Sol v. State of Arizona, #12-15688, 2013 U.S. App. Lexis 4425 (9th
Cir.).
Provisions of an Alabama state law creating new
state crimes for actions by illegal immigrants in the state (such as seeking
work or simply being in the state unlawfully) or actions by others to assist
them through employment or transportation were preempted by federal immigration
law. The court declined to enjoin, however, provisions of the state law which
require officers to determine a lawfully seized individual's immigration status
when the officer has reasonable suspicion that the seized individual is
unlawfully present in the United States by asking federal authorities for a
determination. A similar request is required for any alien arrested and booked
into custody. United States v. State of Alabama, #11-14532, 2012 U.S. App.
Lexis 17516 (11th Cir.)
A federal appeals court upheld a ruling that
provisions of a state statute criminalizing interactions with an illegal
immigrant were preempted by federal immigration law. The prohibited
transactions were transporting an illegal alien, concealing or harboring an
illegal alien, or inducing an illegal alien to enter the state. The ability of
the state to criminalize these actions was preempted by federal immigration law
presenting a comprehensive framework for regulating illegal immigration.It
upheld against a pre-enforcement challenge, however, to provisions of the law
authorizing state and local law enforcement officers to investigate the
immigration status of an individual if the officer has probable cause to
believe the individual has committed another crime and the individual cannot
provide one of the pieces of identification listed in the statute. If the
officer verifies that the individual is not lawfully present in the United
States, the officer "may take any action authorized by state and federal
law," including detaining the person, transporting the person to a
detention facility, or notifying the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The
law prohibits consideration of "race, color, or national origin" in
implementing its requirements "except to the extent permitted by the
Constitutions of Georgia and of the United States." It also prohibits
investigation into the immigration status of persons who witness or report
criminal activity, where the reason for investigation is based on information
arising from that contact. Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights v. Governor
of Georgia, #11-13044, 2012 U.S. App. Lexis 17514 (11th Cir.),
The U.S. Supreme Court upheld an appeals court
ruling enjoining three major provisions of an Arizona state law attempting to
take measures to decrease the impact of illegal immigrants on the state and its
residents. Struck down were sections of the statute making it a misdemeanor for
an illegal resident to work, making it a misdemeanor not to comply with federal
alien registration requirements, and a section authorizing officers to make
warrantless arrests of any person believed to have committed an offense making
them removable from the U.S. These three provisions were deemed preempted by
federal immigration law. The Court did conclude, however, that it had been
improper to enjoin a section of the law that requires an officer making
arrests, detentions, or stops to make an effort to verify a person's
immigration status. The provision could be construed by the state's courts in a
manner that did not conflict with federal immigration law and it was premature
to enjoin it without allowing the state courts to do so. Arizona v. U.S.,
#11-182, 2012 U.S. Lexis 4872.
In a lawsuit claiming that there was a practice
of abusive and unlawful raids of Latino homes by agents of the U.S. Immigration
and Customs Enforcement (ICE), high level supervisory personnel were entitled
to qualified immunity since the plaintiffs failed to assert any plausible basis
to impose liability on them for the purported abuses. Many allegations in the
complaint were merely conclusory, and did not adequately set forth a theory of
possible liability on the part of the supervisors, such as their knowledge of
or acquiescence in unconstitutional conduct. Argueta v. US Immigration and
Customs Enforcement, #10-1479, 643 F.3d 60 (3rd Cir. 2011).
Upholding an injunction against the enforcement
of portions of an Arizona state statute creating immigration-related state
offenses, a federal appeals court found that issuance of the injunction was not
an abuse of discretion, and that the trial court properly found that the
provisions at issue were preempted by federal immigration law. Provisions
enjoined included a requirement that police officers check the immigration
status of anyone reasonably suspected of being in the U.S. illegally. U.S. v.
Arizona, #10-16645, 2011 U.S. App. Lexis 7413 (9th Cir.).
Ruling in a lawsuit filed by the federal
government against the state of Arizona and its governor, a federal judge
enjoined the enforcement of a number of controversial provisions of a new state
immigration law, S.B.1070, including a requirement that police officers check
the immigration status of anyone reasonably suspected of being in the U.S.
illegally. The federal government focused on the argument that the enforcement
of immigration law is its job and that the Arizona law is therefore preempted
by federal law. Other critics of the Arizona law have argued that it will lead
to "racial profiling." Other lawsuits are also pending challenging
the statute. U.S.A. v. State of Arizona, #CV-10-1413, U.S. Dist. Ct. (D. Ariz.
July 28, 2010).
A woman from China and her husband sued the federal
government and a number of officials under the Federal Tort Claims Act,
asserting that an asylum officer demanded sexual favors from her in return for
assisting with her asylum application. He had the authority to grant her asylum
request, eliminating the need for a formal hearing on it. When she refused to
allow him to allegedly unzip and remove her pants, he denied her application A
federal appeals court upheld the dismissal of the lawsuit in part, as the
plaintiff failed to establish that there was a specific duty violated under the
Fifth Amendment or any evidence that could establish the existence of an
unconstitutional policy. It did, however, reinstate an emotional distress
claim, and stated that emotional distress suffered from such a request for
sexual favors could potentially be proven and constitute an injury separate and
apart from battery. The U.S. government is immune under the Federal Tort Claims
Act from claims for battery committed by its employees.. Lu v. Powell,
#08-56421, 2010 U.S. App. Lexis 18368 (9th Cir.).
In a lawsuit claiming that the government's
negligence resulted in the wrongful deportation of the plaintiff's son, brought
under the Federal Tort Claims Act, the U.S. government was protected from the
lawsuit by the discretionary function exception of the Act, 28 U.S.C. Sec,
2680(a). Castro v. U.S., #07-40416, 2010 U.S. App. Lexis 11241 (5th Cir.).
Occupants of a van, containing between twelve and
fourteen passengers, questioned by an officer following a traffic stop, claimed
that he violated their civil rights by asking about their immigration status.
The appeals court found that it was not clear that the brief questioning on the
issue by the officer or the few minutes it took him to receive a response from
immigration had resulted in the unreasonable extension of the time of the stop,
or that he was required to have independent reasonable suspicion to make a
brief inquiry into immigration status. The officer was entitled to qualified
immunity on civil rights claims arising from asking the plaintiffs' status and
contacting immigration, as well as requiring that the van go to the local
immigration office, particularly as it appeared that many passengers in the van
essentially admitted to being in the country illegally. The officer was also
entitled to qualified immunity on claims under the Rhode Island Racial
Profiling Prevention Act. Estrada v. Rhode Island, #09-1149, 2010 U.S. App.
Lexis 2390 (1st Cir.).
An intermediate California appeals court has
upheld summary judgment for the defendants in a lawsuit challenging a Los
Angeles Police Department policy barring officers from initiating action with
the sole objective of discovering the immigration status of an individual, or
arresting anyone for illegal entry into the U.S. The plaintiff was unable to
show any instances where an officer was disciplined for violating the policy,
barring an "as applied" challenge to the policy. There was no
indication that police were prevented from voluntarily contacting federal
immigration authorities in order to determine a person's immigration status.
The court also rejected a facial challenge to the policy, finding no inevitable
conflict between it and a federal law, 8 U.S.C. Sec. 1373, which invalidates
any state or local restrictions on voluntary exchange of information with
federal immigration personnel, since only a hypothetical" conflict was
presented. The court ruled that the policy was not preempted by federal law,
but that a California state statute governing law enforcement cooperation with
the federal Office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.(ICE), Pen. Code Sec
834b, was itself so preempted. That statute says that California law
enforcement agencies "shall fully cooperate" with ICE regarding any
arrestee suspected of being in the U.S. illegally. This statute is preempted as
an impermissible state regulation of immigration, the court stated, Sturgeon v.
Bratton, #B209913, 2009 Cal. App. Lexis 967 (2nd Dist.).
A California taxpayer sought an order requiring
local police in San Francisco to comply with California Health & Saf. Code,
§ 11369 which provides that “[w]hen there is reason to believe that any person
arrested for a violation [of any of 14 specified drug offenses] may not be a
citizen of the United States, the arresting agency shall notify the appropriate
agency of the United States having charge of deportation matters.” He claimed
that the police department was disregarding this statutory requirement. An
intermediate California appeals court has overturned a trial court ruling
holding that the state statute impermissibly interfered with the exclusive
right of the federal government to regulate immigration. The statute, the court
held, did not require police to decide what persons should or should not be
allowed into the country, how long they could stay, or what their permissible
conduct was, but instead merely required that they notify the appropriate
federal authorities when there was reason to believe that an arrestee was not a
citizen. Further proceedings were therefore ordered on the plaintiff's claim.
Fonseca v. Fong, #A120206, 2008 Cal. App. Lexis 1673 (Cal. App. 1st Dist.).
An arrestee who is a citizen of Uruguay claimed that
law enforcement personnel violated his rights under the Vienna Convention on Consular
Relations treaty by failing to inform him about or provide him with the right
to contact the Uruguayan consulate about his arrest. The court ruled that
article 36 of the treaty did not confer individual rights on an arrestee that
could be judicially enforced in U.S. courts, and the rights stated in the
treaty were instead meant to aid in the exercise of "consular
functions." The court therefore rejected his claims for damages under 42
U.S.C. Sec. 1983. Gandara v. Bennett, No. 06-16088, 2008 U.S. App. Lexis 11088
(11th Cir.).
Immigration rights groups failed to show any
actual injury to any of their members from a federal government policy and
practice of entering and distributing civil immigration information to state
and local law enforcement through the National Crime Information Center (NCIC),
and therefore had no standing to assert claims concerning that policy and
practice in a lawsuit. National Council of La Raza v. Gonzales, No. 03-CV-6324,
2007 U.S. Dist. Lexis 1238 (E.D.N.Y.).[N/R]
Federal trial court enjoins enforcement of
municipal ordinance prohibiting landlords from renting apartments or houses to
illegal aliens. The defendant city failed to show that such rental activity had
the effect of increasing local crimes or otherwise endangered public welfare,
health or safety. Questions remained as to whether federal immigration law
preempted the city ordinance, and whether the ordinance was a violation of the
right to due process of law. Garrett v. City of Escondido, No. 06CV2434, 2006 U.S.
Dist. Lexis 93453 (S.D. Cal.). [N/R]