In a landmark settlement, New York City has consented to pay up to $92.5 million over claims it improperly detained thousands of undocumented immigrants on behalf of federal immigration authorities. Specifically, the agreement involves more than 20,000 immigrants who were held beyond their scheduled release dates from city jails, some for several weeks, to permit ICE to take custody and commence deportation proceedings. The payout is built to compensate for a cumulative excess of 166,000 days of "overdetention," according to lawyers from Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel LLP and Benno & Associates, representing the plaintiffs. This information comes as detailed by Gothamist.
While the city admitted no wrongdoing in the settlement, its past operations assumed mandatory compliance with ICE detainers, a stance corrected following court rulings clarifying the necessity of a court order for such detainment after scheduled release dates. “The settlement says that everyone in this country has a right to due process,” Debra L. Greenberger, a partner with Emery Celli et al., said in a statement obtained by Gothamist. Nevertheless, turned on its head by the settlement size, it has become clear that flouting constitutionally guarded due process comes at a steep price for New York City, demonstrating the high costs when officials disregard the law.
Under the terms of the settlement, approved by State Supreme Court Justice Mitchell J. Danziger, compensation will depend on the duration each individual was detained past their release date. One particular case involved an individual detained 41 additional days post a five-day sentence for unlicensed driving, set to receive a payout of at least $25,000. Notably, lawyers representing the plaintiffs underscored the challenging task ahead in locating class members, as many have dispersed throughout the globe. “It’s going to be a challenging process to try to find people who deserve money from the settlement to get the word out,” said Greenberger, emphasizing the vast geographic spread of class members across nations from Ecuador to Trinidad and Tobago, as per Gothamist.
As scrutinized by NY Daily News, the settlement is a potent reminder that the U.S. Constitution extends its protections to all within the country's borders, irrespective of immigration status. This coverage spans fundamental rights, including the right to due process and protection from unreasonable detainment. Despite the settlement likely arriving too late for some who may have been deported already, it sets a precedent for New York City to avert a repeat of similar mistakes concerning the handling of ICE detainers.
Currently, New York City's cooperation with ICE is considerably limited, only complying with detainer requests if accompanied by a judicial warrant and if the individual has been convicted of one of a specific list of 177 crimes, or is on a terrorism watch list. As emphasized in the statement by Greenberger obtained by Gothamist, the settlement underscores the implicit notion that due process applies ubiquitously, a sentiment that the NY Daily News also affirms in their analysis of the legal situation. Potential claimants in the settlement can file their claim through the designated website, NYCICEsettlement.com, as per the legal teams' outreach efforts.
