On March 29th, Guadalupe Plascencia, a 60-year-old hairdresser, spent the night in jail. The incident happened due to a decade-old warrant related to her failure to appear as a witness in a court case.
The woman got arrested by immigration enforcement agents who handcuffed her and took her to the back of a van. Despite repeatedly saying she was an American Citizen, she spent the night in ICE custody, fearing deportation.
She was allowed to speak to her daughter, who brought her passport and confirmed her citizenship. She was later released.
Plascencia has been an American citizen for almost 20 years. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and a law firm filed a lawsuit on behalf of the 60-year-old.
She is seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive relief for unreasonable search and seizure, false arrest, false imprisonment, and violation of equal protection under the law. “Ms. Plascencia, a mother of five, a grandmother of 16, and a business owner, was made to feel that she did not belong in her own country,” said James M. Perez, one of Plascencia’s attorneys.
Attorneys said that the arrest of Plascencia likely stemmed from the faulty, incomplete, and prone to errors database that ICE uses. San Bernardino Sheriff’s Cpl. Ruben Perez said that ICE issued a detainer request for Plascencia on March 30th, the same day she was to get released from jail.
He also said sheriff’s officials did not contact ICE or inquire as to Plascencia’s immigration status, adding that to do so would be against department policy. A spokeswoman for ICE said the agency would never knowingly take enforcement action against someone if there is evidence that the person is a U.S. citizen.
This article was inspired by KTLA // ACLU Sues on Behalf of San Bernardino Woman Who Was Detained by ICE Despite Being a U.S. Citizen