LAS VEGAS (CN) — A man initially held in a Nevada jail said in a Thursday court filing that he was unlawfully transferred to federal authorities in violation of state law.
Sergio Morais-Hechavarria initially sued last week over an agreement the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department forged this year with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Called a 287(g) agreement, it allows ICE to tap local law enforcement for help in federal immigration enforcement, the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada said in a statement.
“LVMPD releasing Mr. Morais-Hechavarria into ICE custody immediately after we filed a legal challenge to their unlawful cooperation with ICE is egregious,” said Athar Haseebullah, ACLU of Nevada executive director, in a statement. “If a local government agency like LVMPD is permitted to arbitrarily enter into agreements with the federal government with no state legislative authorization to do so and to thereafter disregard a lawfully issued Nevada court order at its own discretion, we face a major separation of powers issue with both our state Legislature and state judiciary lacking coequal power.”…