A federal judge in Florida has ruled that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) violated the Fourth Amendment rights of a US citizen, Peter Sean Brown, who was wrongly detained and processed for deportation. The case, *Brown versus Ramsay*, highlights a critical flaw in the system and the potential for abuse when local law enforcement agencies collaborate with ICE.
Judge Kathleen Williams determined that the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office (MSCO), acting on an ICE detainer, illegally detained Brown in April 2018. Despite presenting evidence of his US citizenship, ICE mistakenly identified him as a Jamaican immigrant, initiating deportation proceedings. The court found that ICE lacked probable cause for the detainer, a crucial element that MSCO should not have disregarded.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), representing Brown, celebrated the ruling as a significant victory. They argued that the MSCO cannot evade responsibility for accepting ICE’s flawed detainer, which led to the unlawful detention of a US citizen. This case underscores a broader concern about the increasing number of instances where US citizens are mistakenly detained due to errors by ICE.
This decision carries weighty implications for the 287(g) agreements between ICE and over 600 local and state law enforcement agencies. These agreements allow local authorities to perform immigration enforcement, including detention, even after state charges against an individual are dropped. The ACLU argues that these agreements create a system ripe for error and abuse, potentially jeopardizing the rights of US citizens.
The ACLU points to the inherent flaws in ICE detainers and warns local officials that accepting these documents without independent verification of probable cause puts them at risk of violating constitutional rights. The organization also highlights Florida’s SB 4-C law, which criminalizes the entry of undocumented individuals into the state based solely on immigration history, further increasing the risk of wrongful arrests and deportations, even for American citizens. The ACLU cites a similar case in Florida where a young Hispanic man was detained despite his family providing proof of US citizenship.
The ruling is not only a victory for Peter Sean Brown but also a strong reminder of the importance of upholding constitutional protections for all individuals, regardless of immigration status. Both the ACLU and Americans for Immigrant Justice emphasized the court’s affirmation that unlawful detention based on deficient immigration enforcement practices is unacceptable. The decision serves as a critical warning to local law enforcement agencies to independently verify probable cause before making arrests based on ICE detainers, thereby preventing future instances of wrongful detention of US citizens.
