Southern California attorneys file legal claims against U.S. government for civil rights violations during immigration enforcement
Attorneys representing six people in Southern California announced the filing of legal claims against the United States government for civil rights violations during federal immigrant enforcement operations earlier in the summer.
Attorney Luis Carrillo said during a Wednesday news conference that his clients were wrongfully detained and beaten by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and other federal authorities during raids that occurred in June and July.
"We have filed government federal tort claims on behalf of five U.S. citizens and one legal permanent resident who were racially profiled by ICE and border patrol agents in various communities in the Southland," attorney Michael Carrillo said from his Pasadena law office.
A federal tort claim is a legal action preceding a formal lawsuit against the government. The agency involved can either approve, deny or offer a settlement. If the agency rejects the claim or the claimant is unsatisfied with the settlement, their legal counsel can file a lawsuit against the government.
Luis Carrillo described federal agents involved in roving patrols.
"They were going after hard-working people at the Home Depots, they go after hard-working agricultural workers in the fields," he said. "Today is the beginning of justice for our people in these specific cases."
Attorneys said agents should not have detained their clients in the first place. Federal prosecutors dropped all charges against their clients.
Some of those represented in the claim spoke at Wednesday's news conference. One U.S. citizen said he was held in federal prison for five days after his June 12 detainment.
Javier Ramires said he was born in San Bernardino and lives in both East Los Angeles and Tijuana. He said he exports cars into Mexico, and federal agents came into the Southern California tow yard where he works on June 12.
"I told them, I have all my documents, why am I being detained?" Ramires said. "They didn't have any charges or anything like that."
Cary Lopez Alvarado, a U.S. citizen, spoke at Wednesday's news conference while holding her infant. She was nine months pregnant when she was detained by federal agents on June 8. "I didn't want them to hurt my stomach because I had my baby there," she said.
Attorneys said agents claimed she was interfering with a law enforcement officer while executing his duties, but she ultimately was never charged.
On June 24, Andrea Velez, a U.S. citizen, "was detained wrongfully, without a warrant, and bogus charges were added when she was just on her way to work," attorneys said. Velez said she asked for a warrant, badge number and identification, but the agent did not provide her with any information. She said she was never asked for her identification. "They just wanted to arrest me and put me inside the car," Velez said at Wednesday's news conference.
Attorneys said the recently filed claims allege a pattern of civil rights violations due to the unlawful racial profiling of Latino U.S. citizens.
Los Angeles city and county, along with several other cities, including Pasadena, have already joined a federal lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's immigration enforcement tactics.
The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to the CBS News Los Angeles for comment.
