New York Times (by Kirk Semple): The federal government has agreed to pay $350,000 to settle a civil rights lawsuit filed by 11 Latino immigrants who were arrested in 2007 in a series of immigration raids at their homes in New Haven, lawyers for the plaintiffs said on Tuesday.
The government has also agreed not to deport the plaintiffs, a legal group at Yale Law School that is representing them said in a statement.
The statement said that the agreement appeared to be the largest settlement ever paid by the United States government in a lawsuit over residential immigration raids.
The settlement "shows what can happen when people have the courage to stand together to defend their basic human rights," said Michael J. Wishnie, co-director of the Yale group, the Worker and Immigrant Rights Advocacy Clinic. "This settlement establishes that no one is above the law, including immigration agents."
A statement from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, an arm of the Department of Homeland Security, said that the settlement was not an admission of wrongdoing, adding that "the government is settling in order to avoid the additional time and expense of further litigation."
The lawsuit claimed that during the raids, armed federal officers violated the constitutional rights of the 11 men by arresting them in their homes without warrants and without inquiring about their immigration status, informing them of their rights or explaining why they were being detained. In all, 29 suspected illegal immigrants were arrested during the raids, the plaintiffs' lawyers said.
The operation began two days after the city approved a plan to offer identification cards to all city residents, including illegal immigrants. The lawsuit claimed that the operation began in retaliation for the plan, a charge the federal government denied.
The lawsuit named 16 defendants. They were 14 officers who carried out the raids and two supervisors, including Julie L. Myers, who was head of ICE at the time.
Federal officials have argued that the raids were a legitimate, lawful effort to deport immigrants with outstanding deportation orders.
The government has also agreed not to deport the plaintiffs, a legal group at Yale Law School that is representing them said in a statement.
The statement said that the agreement appeared to be the largest settlement ever paid by the United States government in a lawsuit over residential immigration raids.
The settlement "shows what can happen when people have the courage to stand together to defend their basic human rights," said Michael J. Wishnie, co-director of the Yale group, the Worker and Immigrant Rights Advocacy Clinic. "This settlement establishes that no one is above the law, including immigration agents."
A statement from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, an arm of the Department of Homeland Security, said that the settlement was not an admission of wrongdoing, adding that "the government is settling in order to avoid the additional time and expense of further litigation."
The lawsuit claimed that during the raids, armed federal officers violated the constitutional rights of the 11 men by arresting them in their homes without warrants and without inquiring about their immigration status, informing them of their rights or explaining why they were being detained. In all, 29 suspected illegal immigrants were arrested during the raids, the plaintiffs' lawyers said.
The operation began two days after the city approved a plan to offer identification cards to all city residents, including illegal immigrants. The lawsuit claimed that the operation began in retaliation for the plan, a charge the federal government denied.
The lawsuit named 16 defendants. They were 14 officers who carried out the raids and two supervisors, including Julie L. Myers, who was head of ICE at the time.
Federal officials have argued that the raids were a legitimate, lawful effort to deport immigrants with outstanding deportation orders.
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