The American Civil Liberties Union has settled its lawsuit against Sacramento County, in which the non-profit organization claimed that the local sheriff’s office had violated state law by transferring undocumented immigrants to federal deportation authorities.The lawsuit, writes CapRadio.org, was originally filed on behalf of Sacramento resident Misael Echeveste, along with United Latinos and NorCal Resist.According to CapRadio.org, Echeveste is a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals beneficiary who has lived in Sacramento since he was a child.The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, provides conditional work authorization and short-term, renewable residency permits to children who arrived to the United States illegally as children.

An ICE officer in Florida. Image via U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement/Flickr. Public domain.

Echeveste was arrested in 2018 after being mistakenly identified as a participant in a street fight. He was later convicted on misdemeanor charges and served a short sentence in the Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center.“He should have been released to his family afterwards and put this minor setback behind him, but instead, the jail invited Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to come pick him up, and as a result he lost his DACA status and was placed into deportation proceedings,” A.C.L.U. staff attorney Minju Cho said. “Mr. Echeveste’s story really shows the harms that flow from local law enforcement collusion with ICE.”However, in its lawsuit, the American Civil Liberties Union alleged that the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office had violated at least two state laws: the California Values Act, and the TRUTH Act.The Values Act, notes CapRadio.org, limits how and when local law enforcement can transfer undocumented immigrants to federal immigration enforcement authorities.The TRUTH Act, similarly, mandates that law enforcement provide written documentation of I.C.E. interview requests and transfer requests.While Echeveste is still facing deportation proceedings, the American Civil Liberties Union hopes that the settlement may prevent other undocumented immigrants from being referred to federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement.Speaking to CapRadio.org, A.C.L.U. staff attorney Cho said she hopes that the settlement can help others in Echeveste’s position.“Sacramento’s new compliance with state laws should mean that people are not handed over to ICE, but allowed to return home to their families when they’ve finished their county jail sentences,” Cho said. “We hope that this will keep families together and prevent family separations going forward.”The American Civil Liberties Union said that it will actively monitor the county’s compliance with the Values Act and the TRUTH Act for a further five years.

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ACLU lawsuit finds Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office to be illegally detaining undocumented immigrantsSacramento sheriff settles suit over immigrant transfers