Cooley Partners with ACLU in Class Action Challenge to Practices of Immigration Enforcement Agencies
San Diego, Calif. – June 4, 2013 – Cooley LLP announced today that it partnered with the American Civil Liberties Union in the filing of a class action lawsuit that challenges the practices of immigration enforcement agencies. Lopez-Venegas v. Napolitano, filed June 4, 2013, in federal court in Los Angeles, alleges that Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers have used misinformation, deception and coercion to pressure hundreds, if not thousands, of Mexican nationals who have established deep roots in the United States, into forfeiting their right to a fair hearing and a chance to live in this country lawfully.
The lawsuit alleges that, as a matter of regular practice, Border Patrol agents and ICE officers pressure undocumented immigrants to sign summary expulsion documents. Although this procedure is formally known as "voluntary departure," it regularly results in the involuntary waiver of the impacted immigrant's core due process rights. Those who sign for voluntary departure immediately surrender their rights to a hearing before an immigration judge and are usually expelled to Mexico within hours.
"The policy and practice of misrepresenting an individual's legal rights to deport them summarily from this country is inconsistent with the fundamental notions of fairness and due process under our Constitution. The United States derives its core strength because we embrace these fundamental values and abide by the rule of law," said Anthony Stiegler, co-chair of Cooley's Pro Bono Committee. "We anticipate that this lawsuit will lead to the cessation of forced ‘voluntary departures,' the reuniting of aggrieved individuals with their families and the improvement of our critical border patrol policies and practices."
The Cooley team working with the ACLU is led by partner Anthony Stiegler and includes associates Darcie Tilly, Peter Dahlquist, Brandon Batt, Michael Nieto and Kevin Henderson.
View the ACLU press release here.
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