Some D.C.-area residents shared their stories about being arrested without a warrant by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement during a hearing Wednesday in U.S. District Court for a lawsuit aimed at stopping illegal arrests of people perceived to be immigrants.
“I was detained by D.C. police and then ICE arrived,” said Elias through a representative who read his story because he is currently in the hospital.
Elias was arrested by ICE and said he was detained for more than 8 hours. At the time he was detained, he was headed to D.C. for a dialysis appointment, which he has three times a week.
“I didn’t have my medication with me and I felt very ill. My family was suffering not knowing what will happen to me,” Elias wrote.
The arguments were heard in Escobar Molina et al. v. the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, a lawsuit challenging what they allege are illegal arrests by ICE without warrants or probable cause.
The plaintiffs are being represented by the ACLU of the District of Columbia, Amica Center for Immigrant Rights, CASA, the National Immigration Project, the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, and the law firm of Covington, Burling LLP.
“People are still experiencing these harms day in and day out in the streets of D.C. So we certainly do hope that the court will rule urgently on these issues,” Yulie Landan, staff attorney with the National Immigration Project, said.
During the hearing, U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell listened to arguments in a motion for a preliminary injunction in the case led by CASA to put a stop to the arrests while the case is being considered. They are also asking for class certification of the plaintiffs.
“We recognize that there are individuals who are impacted by this unlawful policy and practice, far beyond the individual plaintiffs who have bravely put their names and their information before the court,” said Aditi Shah, staff attorney with the ACLU of the District of Columbia.
Howell asked for more information from both parties in the case with a deadline of Tuesday, Nov. 25.
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