Washington Lawyers’ Committee Statement Regarding Illegal Immigration Arrests in D.C.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – In response to Tuesday evening’s decision by a U.S. District Judge for the District of Columbia in Escobar Molina et al. v U.S. Department of Homeland Security et al. enjoining the Department of Homeland Security from its practice of conducting warrantless arrests without probable cause, Joanne Lin, executive director of the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, issued the following statement about immigration enforcement in the nation’s capital:
“This ruling halts ICE’s policy and practice of ‘arrest first, ask questions later,’ which has instilled fear in D.C. neighborhoods, and provides a mechanism to ensure immigration enforcement follows the laws that keep our communities secure and free.”
“Citing chilling evidence of D.C. residents who ‘were arrested while going about unavoidable, lawful activities of daily life,’ the Court describes DHS’s ‘policy and practice of arresting people who live and work in the District and whom they perceive to be Latino, without the required probable cause findings that those individuals are in the United States unlawfully and are likely to escape before an administrative warrant can be obtained’ and notes ‘these arrests were frequently accompanied by deprivations of basic human dignity.’
“This is a victory for the rule of law and for the people across the city, who have avoided going to work, to church, to school, to grocery stores – out of fear of being unlawfully arrested, detained, and deported. As the judge’s ruling asserts, ‘viewing all immigrants potentially subject to removal as criminals is, as a legal matter, plain wrong,’ and we will continue to fight for the rights of all D.C. families, including immigrant families, be treated with dignity, fairness and due process.”
The plaintiffs are represented by the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, the American Civil Liberties Union of the District of Columbia, American Civil Liberties Union, Amica Center for Immigrant Rights, CASA, National Immigration Project, and the law firm of Covington & Burling LLP.
The complaint filed in this case, Escobar Molina et al. v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security et al., is available here.