Southland residents, workers and advocacy groups Wednesday sued the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, alleging in federal court that the agency is operating a program of “abducting and disappearing” community members using unlawful arrest tactics, then confining detainees in illegal conditions while denying access to attorneys.
The proposed class-action suit brought in Los Angeles federal court by five workers as well as three membership organizations and a legal services provider, alleges that DHS has unconstitutionally arrested and detained people in order to meet arbitrary arrest quotas set by the administration of President Donald Trump.
“Since June 6th, marauding, masked goons have descended upon Los Angeles, terrorizing our brown communities and tearing up the Constitution in the process,” Mohammad Tajsar, senior staff attorney with plaintiffs’ representative the ACLU Foundation of Southern California, said in a statement. “No matter their status or the color of their skin, everyone is guaranteed Constitutional rights to protect them from illegal stops. We will hold DHS accountable.”…