The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is facing a federal lawsuit filed by seven immigrants who allege that the agency has withheld their passports, work permits, and other personal belongings for months after they were released from detention centers.
The complaint, filed on Tuesday with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, accuses ICE of withholding essential documents without legal justification, a practice that, according to The Wall Street Journal, has caused some affected individuals to lose their jobs, homes, and the ability to function normally.
The procedure, identified as Gonzalez v. Department of Homeland Security, seeks to obtain class action certification to also represent others who are in similar circumstances.
The plaintiffs claim that ICE retains documents and items confiscated during their detentions, even when there is no longer a legal reason to keep them in custody.
Among the mentioned belongings are passports, driver's licenses, work permits, Social Security cards, cell phones, money, and vehicle keys.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), one of the organizations representing the plaintiffs, argues that the retention of these documents has caused financial losses, challenges in obtaining employment, and fear of new detentions.
The issue is particularly serious for those who have pending immigration processes and need to prove their identity, their status with the authorities, or their authorization to work legally in the United States.
According to the lawyers, some of the affected individuals have been waiting for over five months for the return of their belongings.
One of the cases described in the lawsuit is that of Vladimir Izmailov, a Russian citizen with a pending asylum application, who claims that ICE still retains his work authorization documents and other personal belongings.
Izmailov claims that since his release, he has been unable to find a job that allows him to support his family because he does not have the necessary documents to prove that he is authorized to work.
The situation has forced him to borrow money to pay for the rent of the home he shares with his wife and their two children.
Among the belongings he is claiming is also his wedding ring, which he ascribes significant sentimental value to.
"ICE's refusal to return my belongings has further worsened an already terrible experience", Izmailov stated in the statement released by the ACLU.
The immigrant recounted that he spent months in detention under conditions he described as terrible, with inadequate food and medical care, and that he now faces new challenges in supporting his family.
The lawsuit argues that the unjustified retention of belongings violates the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which protects against unreasonable searches and seizures.
Lawyers argue that, although authorities may confiscate certain items during an arrest, this power does not allow them to keep those items indefinitely once the legal justification has disappeared.
They also accuse ICE of violating its own internal rules, which require a clearly identified operational need to continue retaining documents, for example, when they are related to a criminal investigation or there are suspicions of forgery.
In its coverage published this Wednesday, Democracy Now! highlighted the statements of Craig Martin, the attorney for the plaintiffs, who insisted that the agency must explain why it needs to keep those belongings.
"If ICE has a legitimate operational reason to retain someone's property, it must identify that reason," Martin noted.
The lawyer added that, when that justification does not exist, both the Constitution and the regulations of the agency itself point to the obligation to return the documents without delay.
The plaintiffs also invoke the Administrative Procedure Act, which limits the arbitrary actions of federal agencies.
The lawsuit seeks to have a federal judge order ICE to return the documents and belongings it is holding without valid legal justification.
Legal representatives also request measures that require the agency to modify its procedures to ensure that confiscated items are returned when there is no longer a legitimate reason to retain them.
The legal action is directed against ICE and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), as well as against those responsible in both institutions.
Lawyers argue that the situation is not a series of isolated errors, but rather a widespread practice that affects individuals who have already regained their freedom after being in immigration custody.
At the time of the initial reports on the lawsuit, ICE and DHS had not provided a public response to the allegations.
The new legal action comes at a time when ICE is also facing legal scrutiny over the detention conditions of immigrants in various facilities across the United States.
At the beginning of October, a federal class action lawsuit against ICE for the conditions of its Field Office in Miramar, Florida came to light, a facility through which thousands of Cubans pass with form I-220A to attend their immigration appointments.
The complaint, filed by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) and Americans for Immigrant Justice, alleges that individuals detained in that facility have remained for days in overcrowded conditions, without proper beds, and with limited access to food, water, and medical care.
Lawyers also question the use of an office designed for administrative procedures as a detention center for extended periods.
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