A federal court ordered our client released, finding the government had unlawfully jailed him and denied him a bond hearing – a blatant violation of federal law.

We have an important update on our recent victory in federal court.

A federal judge ordered the federal government to release our client until he can be given a bond hearing. The government was unlawfully jailing him without the opportunity to seek release from an immigration judge – something he is entitled to under federal law.

As you may remember, we filed an emergency petition on Thursday, September 18, for an Ecuadoran roofer. Federal agents unlawfully detained him without a warrant after local police investigating a minor car accident turned him over. The government whisked our client away to a remote U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) facility in Fort Fairfield. They did not allow him to have any contact with the outside world for nine days.

Within 24 hours of filing the case, a federal judge granted our request to block the government from transferring him out of state while the court considered our petition. This prevented the government from further separating him from his community and legal counsel. Now, our client is finally out of detention – as federal law requires.

CBP, ICE, and the U.S. Department of Justice must follow the law. They cannot arrest people who entered the country years ago between ports-of-entry without a warrant. These agencies cannot re-write law passed by Congress and deny bond hearings.

As this case moves forward, we’re still working with the ACLU of Massachusetts and other advocates on a class action lawsuit to vindicate the rights of other people in similar situations. We’ll keep you updated as these cases develop.

This case also shows why LD 1971 – which passed the Maine Legislature this year and will go into effect unless the governor vetoes it – is so important. Our client never would have been disappeared to a remote CBP facility if local police had not turned a minor traffic investigation into a federal case, turning him over to CBP. Turning our state and local police into immigration agents does not make any of us safer.

Read more about these cases here.