Immigrants' Rights Advocates File a Motion for Preliminary Injunction in Class Action Lawsuit against ICE and Border Patrol for Warrantless Arrests

COLUMBUS – Today, the ACLU of Ohio, CRIS, ABLE-Ohio and local law firms filed a motion for preliminary injunction in the class action lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), seeking to enjoin their unlawful policy and practice of conducting warrantless arrests without probable cause.

The legal groups representing the class urge the court to order ICE officers to stop their unlawful and reckless practices of rounding up and jailing Ohio residents without complying with probable cause requirements, as mandated in the Immigration and Nationality Act and DHS regulations.

“This motion comes at a critical time, as the temporary protected status for the nearly 30,000 Haitians living in Central Ohio remains in limbo due to pending litigation. The blatant disregard for the rule of law has left immigrant communities in fear to go to work, take their children to school, attend places of worship, or even leave their home. The facts of our case read like a dystopian novel, but this is the terrible and harrowing reality for our clients and the class they represent. Masked, armed, untrained federal agents are aggressively arresting Ohioans – without warrants or probable cause - to meet President Trump’s arbitrary quota of 3,000 immigration arrests per day. We urge the court to issue a class wide preliminary injunction to halt this practice,” offered Freda Levenson, Chief Legal Officer for the ACLU of Ohio.

“ICE continues its vicious campaign in Ohio unabated-- tearing families apart, hurting business, and trampling on the Constitution. We turn to the Court to put a stop to it,” added John Marshall, lead counsel for the plaintiffs.

“We are left with no choice but to turn to the courts to protect the rights of immigrants in Ohio. The ICE overreach must stop. Our community deserves better," added Angie Plummer, Executive Director of CRIS.

“Our clients continue to live in fear every day that they will be swept up in an unlawful, warrantless arrest by ICE officers, Border Patrol agents, or their hired contractors. We urge the court to uphold the rule of law by granting classwide relief ordering immigration enforcement officers to comply with legal requirements when making immigration arrests,” stated Katie Kersh, Managing Attorney at Advocates for Basic Legal Equality.