Lawyer Says Illegal Detentions Made During ICE Raid (KNBC-Los Angeles)

Lawyer Says Illegal Detentions Made During ICE Raid
POSTED: 5:31 pm PDT April 25, 2008

VAN NUYS, Calif. -- A Los Angeles civil rights lawyer is accusing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) of violating the law during a Feb. 7 raid in Van Nuys.

Suspected illegal immigrants were picked up during a raid at Micro Solutions Enterprises, a computer printer cartridge manufacturing plant in the 8200 block of Woodley Avenue.

Attorney Peter Schey contends the agency had no right to detain workers at the factory for upward of an hour before figuring out who was in the country legally and who was not.

The raid resulted in the arrest of 130 suspected illegal immigrants, KNBC's Conan Nolan reported.

Feb. 7 Video

ICE is accused of violating the law when during the raid when they also temporarily detained 114 workers who were either U.S. citizens or legal residents.

Schey said the detention was a violation of the U.S. Constitution.

Former Micro Solutions employee Clare Cox told Nolan that she was treated poorly by ICE agents and they would not let her get identification from her car.

In a statement, ICE said the warrant was signed by a judge and was based upon the likelihood that evidence of criminal violations would be found at the location. The search was properly conducted in accordance with the warrant, federal rules of criminal procedure and ICE policies, the statement said.

Former immigration prosecutor Carl Shusterman said it was a civil -- not a criminal -- warrant. He said that although agents had a right to question employees, the tactics, to him, appeared excessive.

Initially, the warrant was for eight suspected illegal immigrants. The rest were arrested after a check of employment records, Nolan reported.

This is not the first time this particular raid has been challenged.

In February, civil rights groups filed a federal lawsuit alleging immigration officials illegally denied attorneys to suspected undocumented workers caught during the raid.

That lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in downtown Los Angeles by the American Civil Liberties Union and other civil rights groups, claims ICE barred attorneys from accompanying the suspected undocumented workers to interviews, and requests that a judge order the agency to allow attorneys to represent them.

Previous Stories:
February 14, 2008: Lawsuit Filed After Suspected Undocumented Workers Allegedly Denied Attorneys
February 8, 2008: More Than 120 In Custody After ICE Agents Raid Van Nuys Business