The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has filed its first lawsuit against President Joe Biden’s administration, representing illegal aliens who are seeking release from Department of Homeland Security (DHS) custody.
The ACLU’s class action lawsuit, announced Wednesday, seeks to have at least 100 illegal aliens currently being held in DHS custody in the sanctuary state of New Jersey released into American communities while awaiting their immigration proceedings.
In April, Essex County, New Jersey, officials said they would be ending a contract with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that for years has allowed the Essex County Correctional Facility to detain criminal illegal aliens.
As a result, ICE has planned to move illegal aliens in the Essex County facility to detention centers in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and other southern states. The ACLU calls the plan a violation of “civil liberties and civil rights.”
“Transferring hundreds of people far away from their families and attorneys violates the rights and dignity of New Jerseyans, and we’re calling on the courts to stop this policy of gratuitous cruelty,” ACLU New Jersey Executive Director Amol Sinha said in a statement.
Instead, the ACLU argues the illegal aliens ought to be released into American communities in New Jersey while awaiting the outcomes of their immigration proceedings — anything else is “depriving people of their constitutional rights,” according to Sinha.
The case is Robles v. DHS, No. 2:21-cv-13117 filed in U.S. District Court of New Jersey.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter here.