On July 11, 2008, two detainees filed a habeas petition and class action suit in the Western District of Pennsylvania against the Warden of Allegheny County Jail challenging their continued detention pursuant to immigration detainers and alleging violations of the Fourteenth Amendment. Despite the fact that the criminal charges against plaintiffs had been dropped, they were continuously detained due to detainers placed on them by federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement ("ICE") agents. Plaintiffs, represented by attorneys for the Community Justice Project, sought habeas relief.

Plaintiffs filed a motion for class certification on July 23, 2008, seeking to certify a class consisting of all who are or will be detained in the Allegheny County Jail based solely on an immigration detainer and without the opportunity to object to their detention. The same day, the district court (Judge David S. Cercone) denied the habeas petition as moot, dismissed the action, and denied the motion for class certification because ICE had assumed custody of both petitioners.

Jennifer Bronson - 11/20/2013


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