Los Angeles to Pay $14 Million to Illegally Detained Immigrants

Los Angeles County leaders have agreed to pay $14 million to thousands of illegally held immigrants by the sheriff's department.

There were nearly 19,000 immigrants in Los Angeles who were illegally detained. They were said to have been held beyond their release dates solely because of pending immigration probes, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The immigrants were held illegally in different time ranges from October 2010 to June 2014. Some were held for months and others for a few days.

Attorneys to the plaintiffs said the extension of their detention was made at the request from Immigration and Customer Enforcement (ICE). The sheriff's department only agreed to stop honoring detainer requests in 2014.

At the Obama administration's request, the county sought to settle a lawsuit that challenged the sheriff's authority to help ICE in detaining immigrants, said a Washington Post report.

Most of the recipients for the $14 million are undocumented immigrants arrested on criminal charges. They were also held even after a judge ordered their release.

There was a unanimous vote Tuesday among the board of supervisors authorizing the payment. But it isn't the final settlement since it still needs to be approved by the judge overseeing the case.

The class-action suit was filed in 2012 by British filmmaker Duncan Roy. He was denied bail over an ICE hold and spent three months in jail.

Charge Against the Department

The suit charged the LA Sheriff's Department for violating the Constitution for jailing past release dates on behalf of ICE. The department is the largest law enforcement agency in the nation, according to Business Insider.

A U.S. federal judge ruled in 2018 that the "ICE holds" were, in essence, arrests as well.

Jennie Pasquarella, attorney for American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) representing the plaintiffs, said this was a "very strong message." She believed the settlement is a reminder for agencies "who continue to blindly comply with ICE's requests."

According to ACLU, class members will receive $250 to $25,000 depending on the length of their hold. If there happens to be leftover money, it will go to programs that provide legal aid to people facing immigration challenges.

Change of Pace

The policies and practices in the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department have changed a lot since the filing of the lawsuit.

As of 2020, they will only detain an immigrant beyond their release date if the ICE gets a judge-approved warrant.

Chris Newman, legal director at the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, also found this development a positive event.

"This settlement will likely contribute to a growing trend where local jurisdictions are taking appropriate steps to kick ICE out of their prisons, jails, and courthouses," he said in a statement.

Sheriff Alex Villanueva said Tuesday that the $14 settlement will be paid through the county's general fund. It won't be pulled from the department's budget.

He argued that it's not fair to penalize his department for the mistakes of the previous sheriffs. He added it was the right step, especially as he is trying to be proactive in keeping ICE out of county jails.

"I kicked ICE out of the jails and I banned all transfers of inmates to custody of ICE," he said when comparing himself to past sheriffs.

Villanueva did make some active movement to keep ICE off jails. He stopped a grant that required sending information about the illegal immigrant inmates. He also put a moratorium on ICE transfers due to concerns with facilities and later on made it permanent.

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