Trial over immigration data begins

LOS ANGELES -- A class of plaintiffs taking the U.S. government to trial Tuesday challenged the system of information immigration agents use when deciding to detain individuals, arguing they do so based on incomplete, error-filled data.

Opening statements in the bench trial before U.S. District Judge André Birotte Jr. centered on Fourth Amendment protections against unlawful search and seizures, a right plaintiffs' counsel, the American Civil Liberties Union, argued has been abused by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) when detaining those who are in the country illegally.

Meanwhile, Department of Justice attorneys said the data system is reliable and based on fingerprints, which are 99 percent accurate.

The trial is six years in the making and comes as President Donald Trump and Democrats fiercely debate immigration issues.

Specifically, plaintiffs said 10 databases used by ICE agents who work at the Pacific Enforcement Law Center in Laguna Niguel are unreliable and have resulted in illegal detainers issued to lawful permanent residents. These detainer requests are made to local law enforcement when agents wish to detain individuals beyond 48 hours. The agents at the center issue detainers to 42 states, but not California due to previous court rulings. Any ruling by the judge would affect that facility's detainer issuances.

"This is a dragnet without a safety net," said Jennifer L. Pasquerella, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, who said in her opening statement ICE has a click-and-arrest, detain first, investigate later approach that has led to a raft of illegal detentions. Gonzalez v. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement CV 12-09012-AB (FFMx) (C.D. Cal., June 19, 2013).

Jacob Max Weintraub, a Department of Justice attorney, said in his opening statement, lasting about five minutes, that officials use probable cause to assess a detainer based on "reliable and trustworthy information."

"Plaintiffs seem to suggest a higher standard should apply," said Weintraub.

Pasquerella took the full alloted 50 minutes for the plaintiffs, saying ICE cares "about expediency and what is the least intensive way to deport great numbers of people." She recommended officials should check hard copy files and interview the immigrant and people close to the person.

Pasquerella said ICE issued 15,000 detainers in 2006 and 310,000 by 2011, a 2,000% increase.

She said none of the databases have not been audited by ICE and are missing key information, including passport, visa overstay, and naturalization information -- the latter of which Pasquerella said deletes after 15 years.

"That database contains no information on people who were naturalized before 2004," she told the judge.

Further, she said some databases have error rates as high as 30%.

"ICE will not submit a single record to refute the error rates," said Pasquerella.

The ACLU said immigration status can be complicated as a person's status often changes throughout his or her life. Not every change is recorded in databases, and agents are not getting the full story when making a decision, Pasquerella said.

The plaintiffs' counsel said they will call to the stand the supervisor of the Criminal Alien Program as well as three ICE officials, two of whom have never used the databases, according to the ACLU.

Weintraub, speaking for the DOJ, said the plaintiffs will call witnesses who do not have experience issuing detainers while government witnesses will say they are familiar and confident with results they are getting.

In her opening, Pasquerella cited examples such as a man who was arrested because database information incorrectly said he was born in Mexico. Another error didn't indicate a woman had been naturalized since 1986 while a spelling error mistook one woman for a Canadian citizen, the attorney said.

The National Day Laborer Organizing Network and the National Immigrant Justice Center are also parties in the lawsuit. The trial is expected to last seven days.