Decision affirms that U.S. citizen Peter Sean Brown was illegally detained in violation of Fourth Amendment rights
MIAMI, Fla. — A federal court today granted a motion for partial summary judgment in Brown v. Ramsay, a federal lawsuit challenging the illegal detention of Peter Sean Brown, a U.S. citizen who was arrested and detained by the Monroe County, Fla. Sheriff’s Office (MSCO) at the request of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The court ruled that Mr. Brown’s Fourth Amendment rights were violated when Monroe County Sheriff Rick Ramsay illegally detained him in April 2018. Mr. Brown was held on an ICE immigration detainer, which had incorrectly identified Mr. Brown as a deportable Jamaican immigrant. The court’s ruling explains that ICE lacked probable cause to issue the detainer in the first place, and the Sheriff’s office could not rely on the detainer to ignore the obvious evidence that Mr. Brown was a citizen: “MCSO cannot abdicate its legal responsibility and turn a blind eye to this information.”
ICE’s controversial “detainers” ask state and local law enforcement agencies to re-arrest and detain individuals identified by ICE for up to 48 hours after their state cases have ended. The ruling is a win for immigrants’ rights, demonstrating that – as advocates have long argued – ICE detainers are deeply flawed and local officials act at their own peril when they accept these documents to justify additional detention. Monroe County joins a long list of jurisdictions that have been held liable or settled claims arising from immigration detainer holds.
The decision comes amid increasing reports that ICE has arrested, detained, and even deported U.S. citizens as ICE engages in mass deportations. State police have done the same; in Florida, SB 4-C – which makes it a felony for certain undocumented people to enter the state based solely on their immigration history – put U.S. citizens at further risk of arrest and deportation. Last month, a U.S. citizen was wrongfully arrested under the law by local law enforcement who suspected he was undocumented, underscoring the dangers of immigration enforcement by local authorities and causing a federal judge to reiterate that enforcement of the law is currently prohibited because it is likely unconstitutional.
Quotes from co-counsel are as follows:
“We have seen the ICE detainer system fail time and again, but the County still chose to put Mr. Brown through this nightmare,” said Cody Wofsy, deputy project director of the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project. “At a moment in which we are seeing a raft of unlawful immigration arrests of citizens by federal and local authorities, this decision is a key reminder that the Fourth Amendment safeguards us all.”
"This case highlights the significant threat posed to U.S. citizens by frequent ICE errors, which are exacerbated when local law enforcement agencies participate in immigration enforcement,” said Amien Kacou, staff attorney at the ACLU of Florida. “This case makes one thing clear: state and local police who act as ICE’s enforcers do so at their own peril. The Sheriff’s office cannot deflect responsibility onto ICE and ignore its independent duty to ensure there is probable cause before arresting someone like Mr. Brown. His perseverance in this lawsuit reaffirms that the U.S. Constitution protects every Floridian, regardless of citizenship."
"We welcome the court’s ruling, which affirms that no person should be unlawfully detained based on flawed immigration enforcement practices,” said Sui Chung, executive director at Americans for Immigrant Justice. “Today’s decision brings long-overdue relief for Mr. Brown, whose unjust legal ordeal should never have happened. The court’s ruling is a strong reminder that law enforcement must uphold constitutional protections for all individuals, regardless of status."
Read the court order here.
