HABEAS CORPUS PETITION AND CLASS ACTION COMPLAINT FILED TO PROTECT DUE PROCESS RIGHTS OF INDIVIDUALS UNLAWFULLY DETAINED BY ICE
EL PASO, TEXAS - Today, the Texas Civil Rights Project (TCRP), RAICES, and Hogan Lovells US LLP, filed a class action complaint in the Western District of Texas on behalf of Eduardo Alvarez Perez, Herminia Paisano Cardenas, and Segundo Rafael Tenenpaguay Duchi, proposed representatives of the class, challenging their ongoing civil detention as a violation of their Fifth Amendment rights.
Over the last several months, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) and the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) have abruptly and unlawfully reversed decades of settled immigration practice to deny immigration bond hearings to thousands of noncitizens, many of whom are in Texas.
The lawsuit alleges that petitioners and class members continued detention without a bond hearing is unlawful and a violation of their due process rights. It seeks a resolution of their claims on a classwide basis in order to give effect to the protections set out in the Due Process Clause for similarly situated noncitizens detained in the Western District of Texas.
“The right to due process is enshrined in the Constitution for all, not just when it’s convenient, but always. The petitioners in this case have been denied fair, individualized hearings, subjecting them to continued detention without another method of appeal. The Texas Civil Rights Project stand for due process in all cases and will continue advocating in and out of the courts for impacted people,” said Danny Woodward, Staff Attorney, Texas Civil Rights Project
“Our nation’s immigration laws hold a dirty secret: they are built on exclusion, not the promise of Lady Liberty. Today, detention is used to ‘disappear’ neighbors from our communities based on race, ethnicity, and nationality,” said Javier Hidalgo, Public Affairs Director at RAICES. “Punishing families who are legally seeking protection isn't just a failure of our ideals—it's a ‘flesh-for-cash’ business that enriches private corporations at the expense of our democracy. At RAICES, we know that when we strip immigrants of their rights, we forfeit the rights of everyone. We are proud to stand and fight with the brave plaintiffs in this case.”
