A judge has dismissed the case of an illegal immigrant facing deportation after ruling that federal agents violated his rights during a work site raid in Van Nuys in 2008.
Los Angeles immigration Judge A. Ashley Tabaddor issued a written decision that agents failed to follow their own regulations when they detained Gregorio Perez Cruz without reasonable suspicion that he was an illegal immigrant.
The judge also determined that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents failed to advise Perez Cruz of his rights and interrogated him in an "intimidating and coercive environment," where he was deprived of food and water for 18 hours and forced to sleep on a concrete floor.
Perez Cruz's attorney, Ahilan Arulanantham, said the 19-page decision could affect dozens of other immigration cases of workers arrested at Micro Solutions Enterprises.
"We're very pleased that the rights of the Van Nuys workers were vindicated," said Arulanantham, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California. "The decision sends a message to ICE that it cannot disregard the rights of the people that it targets."
On Feb. 7, 2008, armed immigration agents entered Micro Solutions Enterprises, blocked the exits and ordered employees to stop working while the authorities executed federal arrest warrants for eight people and a search warrant as part of an ongoing criminal investigation. The eight people were arrested on criminal charges and 130 others were arrested on charges of immigration violation.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman Virginia Kice said the government plans to appeal the decision, which was issued on Feb. 10 but not announced until Friday.
"ICE respectfully disagrees with the immigration judge's ruling," Kice said in a statement. "The ICE enforcement action involving the factory operated by Micro Solutions Enterprises was carried out in accordance with the terms of the related search warrant as well as with ICE policies and procedures."
Government regulations prevent agents from detaining people unless there is a reasonable suspicion that the person is in the country illegally. They also require agents to advise detainees of their rights if they are being arrested without a warrant.
According to the decision, the agents violated both rules, which the judge said were designed to protect Perez Cruz's right "to be free from an illegal detention, arrest and interrogation."
