Suffolk County, known for its pristine beaches and sleepy suburbs, has become the center of a heated legal battle over the detention of immigrants. The county will appeal a $112 million award to nearly 700 immigrants a federal judge ruled were unlawfully detained, according to a county spokesperson Michael Martino. This compensation comes after it was found that the Suffolk County Sheriff's Office violated Fourth Amendment protections by holding the immigrants past their scheduled release times.
As detailed in a report by Gothamist, the payout will be divided among 674 immigrants who were detained between July 18, 2014, and Nov. 15, 2018. These detentions, many made after their bail had already been paid, responded to ICE detainer requests, a policy halted by the sheriff's office as of the latter date. The county disagrees with the jury’s decision on the lawsuit, asserting the county's position through their forthcoming appeal.
This substantial legal decision comes on the heels of a similar settlement in New York City, where the city agreed to pay up to $92.5 million concerning the unlawful detention of more than 20,000 immigrants, also for ICE. Despite the scale of this previous settlement, plaintiff’s attorney Andrew Case with LatinoJustice PRLDEF expressed confidence to Gothamist that identifying the individuals entitled to the current payout was not a challenge his team faced immediately, as the team braces for Suffolk County's appeal.
In a resounding affirmation of due process rights, a NY federal jury found Suffolk County liable for holding the migrants past their release dates without proper notification, according to a case summary provided by Law360. This jury decision follows the denial of Suffolk County's motion to dismiss the claims, in which the defense argued—without success—that the local authorities possessed the same immunity as federal agencies like ICE when cooperating with federal immigration enforcement. Judge Kuntz pronounced, wholly against the claim of the defense by saying that the "rule of law defines the power of the police: not the other way around."
Deputy General Counsel from LatinoJustice PRLDEF, José Pérez, hailed the decision as justice served, ensuring that the abuses will hopefully not be repeated. He told Law360, "The jury confirmed what we have argued all along, that Suffolk County's actions trampled the basic due process rights guaranteed under the 14th Amendment." The legal team representing the immigrants was comprised of attorneys from Winston & Strawn LLP and LatinoJustice PRLDEF, while Suffolk County's defense was managed by attorneys from Dewey Pegno & Kramarsky LLP and the Suffolk County Attorney's Office.
