A lawsuit challenges arrests of immigrants who come to Philly's ICE office for routine appointments
Source: msn/Philadelphia Inquirer
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PHILADELPHIA — A 36-year-old survivor of slavery said he has tried to follow all the rules since fleeing Mauritania, a mostly desert land in West Africa, and seeking asylum in the United states in 2023. But when Ousmane Soumare arrived at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Philadelphia in November for a routine check-in, he was detained by officers.
Now Soumare, who was released by a federal judge’s order, and two other immigrants who fear a similar fate in the upcoming appointments, are suing ICE and the Department of Homeland Security over the policy change that led to such arrests.
The Philadelphia ICE field office violated federal law when it “unlawfully rescinded” a longstanding policy that largely allowed immigrants to pursue their immigration cases without fear of rearrest, the suit says. ICE then “began re-arresting and re-detaining people previously determined to pose no risk of flight or danger to the community and still in full compliance with all conditions of their release.”. Soumare, Lassana Dianifaba, and a third immigrant who was not named in court documents filed the lawsuit Wednesday in federal court in Philadelphia.
“When the government releases a person from custody, there is an implicit promise that their liberty will be honored as long as they follow what is asked of them,” said Vanessa Stine, senior staff attorney at ACLU of Pennsylvania, which represents the immigrants. “These re-arrests disregard a decades-old policy and sow fear and chaos.”
Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/a-lawsuit-challenges-arrests-of-immigrants-who-come-to-philly-s-ice-office-for-routine-appointments/ar-AA26sZlP
Link to ACLU PRESS RELEASE - ACLU-PA and Kennedy Human Rights Center File Class Action Lawsuit to Stop ICE from Unlawfully Re-Detaining People at Their Check-Ins
Link to SUIT (PDF) - https://www.aclupa.org/app/uploads/2026/06/1.pdf
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