A groundbreaking class-action lawsuit challenges Immigration and Customs Enforcement's handling of bond payments, affecting thousands of immigrant families and U.S. citizens across the nation.
According to The Associated Press, the federal lawsuit filed Tuesday alleges that ICE illegally retained over $300 million in immigration bond payments.
The legal action reveals that $240 million of these funds have already been transferred to a U.S. Treasury account for unclaimed funds. The lawsuit, filed in the Eastern District of New York, represents a culmination of a two-year investigation by Motley Rice LLC. This legal initiative aims to address longstanding complaints from families who posted cash bonds for detained relatives.
Immigration bonds serve as a crucial mechanism for releasing non-citizens during their removal proceedings. These payments, averaging $6,000, allow individuals to remain in the United States while their cases progress through the court system. The ICE handbook clearly states that bond refunds should be immediate in some cases or within 60 days in others once immigration proceedings conclude.
However, the reality for many families has proven drastically different. The systematic failure to return these funds has created significant financial hardship for numerous families who trusted the government's bond payment system. Many affected individuals have waited years for their rightful refunds.
Attorney Deepak Gupta of Gupta Wessler LLP shared his perspective on the situation:
They have taken thousands of dollars from hardworking immigrant families who deserve to have their money returned. We want ICE to fix this system, we want the court to declare that ICE is violating its legal obligations under the contract so that this doesn't happen to other families again in the future.
The legal team's thorough investigation, involving FOIA requests and court records, led to the substantial $300 million figure. This amount represents countless individual stories of financial hardship and bureaucratic oversight.
The case has attracted significant attention through its lead plaintiff, Douglas Cortez of Uniondale, New York. His experience of posting a $10,000 bond, only to face prolonged silence after his friend's case dismissal in August 2023, exemplifies the widespread nature of this issue.
Ada Salazar's story illustrates the long-term effects of these withheld payments. The 28-year-old El Salvador native, now a food truck owner in North Carolina, is still waiting for the return of her $5,000 bond payment from February 2016.
The situation particularly affects low-income immigrant families who often gather these substantial sums through collective effort. Many have achieved legal status yet continue to wait for their refunds. These delayed refunds impact not just individual families but entire communities, affecting their ability to invest in businesses, education, and other opportunities for advancement.
The lawsuit seeks class-action status to represent tens of thousands of affected individuals. Court documents indicate that precise numbers will be determined through government records. The legal process aims to establish systematic changes in ICE's bond refund procedures. While ICE has declined to comment on the pending litigation, the case represents a significant challenge to current practices.
This landmark lawsuit represents a crucial moment in immigration bond reform, potentially affecting tens of thousands of families across the United States. The $300 million in withheld funds represents not just monetary value but the trust placed in government institutions.
The case's outcome could reshape how immigration bonds are handled in the future, potentially establishing new precedents for accountability and efficiency in the refund process. As the legal battle unfolds, thousands of families await the possibility of finally recovering their long-withheld funds.
