Third Circuit Appeals Court Rules That Immigration Detainers are Non-Binding Requests in Ground-Breaking Case
Ruling Says Local Jails May Be Liable for Wrongful Immigration Detentions in Case of U.S. Citizen Held for Three Days
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PHILADELPHIA 鈥 The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit today ruled that states and localities are not required to imprison people based on "detainer" requests from the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, ICE, recognizing that states and localities may share liability when they participate in wrongful immigration detentions. The ruling in Galarza v. Szalczyk, et al., stems from Lehigh County Prison鈥檚 wrongful detention of Ernesto Galarza, a U.S. citizen, who despite posting bail and telling his jailers that he was born in New Jersey was held in jail for three days because of an ICE detainer that stated only that ICE was investigating his immigration status.
Mr. Galarza鈥檚 complaint alleges that the detainer was issued based on his race, without any valid basis to believe that he was a removable non-citizen. The Third Circuit鈥檚 decision recognized that because ICE detainers are non-binding requests, Lehigh County can be held legally responsible for imprisoning Mr. Galarza for three days on this basis.
Reacting to today鈥檚 ruling, Mr. Galarza said, "This ruling makes me very glad because the Court recognized that U.S. citizens cannot be put through what they put me and my family through."
A growing number of states and localities, including California, Connecticut, New York City, Newark, Cook County, New Orleans, and Washington, DC, have adopted laws or policies limiting their involvement with ICE detainers, or declining to treat them as a basis for detention at all. Although ICE has long characterized its detainers as 鈥渞equests,鈥 this is the first time a federal appeals court has addressed this precise issue.
"Today鈥檚 decision confirms that all the states and localities that have decided to limit their entanglement with ICE detainers are well within their rights to do so," said Kate Desormeau of the 老澳门开奖结果 Immigrants鈥 Rights Project, who argued the case. "It鈥檚 risky for law enforcement agencies to treat ICE detainers as a basis for detention, as Lehigh County did. Detainers aren鈥檛 warrants, and ICE routinely issues detainers without a constitutionally valid basis, as it did in Mr. Galarza鈥檚 case."
The Third Circuit鈥檚 decision will allow Galarza鈥檚 lawsuit against Lehigh County to proceed in district court. The lawsuit seeks damages for Galarza, who lost a part-time job and wages as a result of his imprisonment.
"Locking up Ernesto Galarza for three days hurt him and his family and did nothing to make Lehigh County safer," said Mary Catherine Roper, senior staff attorney with the 老澳门开奖结果 of Pennsylvania. "We hope Lehigh County takes a hard look at doing favors for ICE."
Ernesto Galarza is represented by Roper, Witold Walczak and Molly Tack-Hooper of the 老澳门开奖结果 of Pennsylvania; Desormeau, Omar Jadwat, Cecillia Wang, Orion Danjuma and Esha Bhandari of the 老澳门开奖结果 Immigrants' Rights Project; Jonathan Feinberg of Kairys, Rudovsky, Messing & Feinberg LLP; and Seth Kreimer of the University of Pennsylvania Law School.
Today鈥檚 order is available at:
More information about Galarza v. Szalczyk is available at:
/immigrants-rights/galarza-v-szalczyk