Federal immigration officers, acting without a judicial warrant or consent, entered the Brooklyn home of Hayk Safaryan early one morning last summer, took him into custody and seized his personal documents as well, according to a federal lawsuit challenging the arrest’s legality.
Safaryan, 44, an Armenian immigrant who has lived in the United States for more than two decades, was sitting at his computer and eating breakfast when the officers knocked, according to written court testimony from his wife Léah Lazonick. After Safaryan opened the door, the officers asked him for identification, and as Safaryan went to retrieve his wallet, “a heavily armed SWAT team of about six people stormed inside” and detained him.
The pending habeas complaint calls for Safaryan’s release from ICE custody based on several claims, including that the officers illegally entered the home and arrested him in violation of constitutional protections against unreasonable searches and seizures…