"When federal agents arrested Jorge Willy Valera Chuquillanqui as he left his immigration court hearing in San Francisco this summer, they moved him to a 200-square-foot cell that held seven other detainees. For three days, Immigration and Customs Enforcement kept Valera in the metal-clad room on the sixth floor above the courtroom, according to a declaration he submitted to a judge. There were no beds, and the lights remained on at all hours."
"Bay Area immigration advocates sued to halt the arrests, which they argue force those seeking refuge in the United States to choose between skipping their court dates, thereby increasing their chances of deportation, or attending the proceedings and risking detention. This ruling is a critical step in ensuring that immigrants can safely pursue their immigration cases without fear of arrest, Jordan Wells, an attorney for the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area, said in a statement."
Federal agents arrested Jorge Willy Valera Chuquillanqui as he left an immigration court hearing and placed him in a 200-square-foot cell shared with seven others. ICE held Valera in a metal-clad room above the courtroom for three days with no beds, constant lights, and a single shared toilet. Bay Area advocates sued to stop court arrests, arguing those arrests force migrants to choose between missing hearings or risking detention. U.S. District Judge P. Casey Pitts temporarily barred ICE from making such arrests across Northern California, finding credible claims that the arrests chill attendance and undermine the court system. At least 75 court arrests occurred in San Francisco and 39 in Sacramento this year.
Read at www.mercurynews.com
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