SCOTUS decision for case in Georgia could result in lawsuits against federal agent operations in Chicago
For months, claims of abuse and wrongful arrest have been levied against federal immigration agents in Chicagos. But what options do people really have to hold federal agents accountable? One case in Georgia could lead to a wave of lawsuits in Chicago.
Historically, it's been extremely difficult to sue the federal government if you believe your rights were violated. But now that could change because of a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision.
The federal raid on the 130-unit apartment building at 75th and South Shore in September has led to a congressional investigation by the Homeland Security and judiciary committees.
"They had little children and old people outside and in handcuffs," said Patrick Jaicomo, attorney for the Institute for Justice, a nonprofit that provides legal support for people accusing the federal government of abusing constitutional rights.
Federal agents from the FBI, ATF, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, using flash bang grenades and battering rams, trampled through the apartments. In an Oct. 6 letter to Homeland Security director Kristi Noem and Attorney General Pamela Bondi, ranking democrats accused ICE agents of violence against innocent people, including children swept up and taken away wearing little clothing. Cell phone video captured one child wrapped in a blanket.
"Just imagine the sort of traumatic experience that it is to have your door blown open in the middle of the night or in the very early morning. and now imagine that you're four or five years old, you can't even really process what's going on, even in the aftermath," Jaicomo said. "If you were harmed by a federal officer, you can do something about that now."
Jaicomo is expecting a tidal wave of lawsuits nationwide against federal agents, not just for raids like what happened in South Shore, but also lawsuits filed by U.S. citizens and non-citizens in communities impacted the most by federal agents over the last several months, for allegations of excessive force, wrongful arrest, wrongful detention, and other injuries.
What's making this all possible? Jaicomo points to a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision about another federal raid in Georgia in 2017. The case at the center is his client, Trina Martin, and part of what happened at her home that was captured on a police body camera.
"I still see the moment, and I still see what it has done to my son," she said.
Her home was wrongly raided by heavily armed federal agents, with the FBI.
"They forced their way into my home about four o'clock in the morning. Threw in flash, bang, grenade, bombs, had us all surrounded with assault rifles in our face. My son was in a room by himself with just looking into a barrel of a gun, and I can hear him calling me," she said.
Her son Gabe was only 7 years old at the time.
"I could just hear my son calling my name, just ma, ma, ma, and this, that sound will always stay with me," she said.
The agents weren't even on the right street. The federal agent in charge said his GPS device sent him to the wrong house. And even though they raided the wrong home, attorneys representing the FBI in court argued the feds were immune from being sued.
"In the Martin's case, these officers and the United States really were completely immunized from any sort of accountability or liability for the harms that they created," Jaicomo said.
People who believe they've been harmed by federal employees can sue under what's called the Federal Tort Claims Act. But there have been roadblocks and restrictions due to differing interpretations of the law when it comes to immunity for federal agents. That's what happened in Trina's case, and it was initially thrown out.
"So, it's really hard to sue the federal government for several reasons. The first is that the federal government is the government, so when you're asking to sue it in its own courts, it can make that as hard as possible," Jaicomo said.
So then Jaicomo and Martin appealed all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, and in June, eight years after the wrong raid on her home, justices made this landmark decision unanimously, agreeing that the federal government did not have immunity, and her case could move forward because she did have the right to sue.
"All of these ICE raids and other DHS actions will result in the federal government paying tens or hundreds of millions of dollars in damages," Jaicomo said.
"I feel like people have an opportunity to hold the federal government accountable for their actions," Martin said.
The lawsuit filed by the Martin family is expected to go back to court later this year. CBS News Chicago investigators are digging into other claims and lawsuits alleging abuses by federal agents in the Chicago area.