Lawsuit Claims U.S. Immigration Authorities Illegally Withheld Over $300 Million in Bond Payments.
MIAMI (AP) — A lawsuit filed Tuesday alleges that U.S. immigration authorities wrongfully kept more than $300 million in bond payments from low-income immigrant families and U.S. citizens. The complaint highlights longstanding issues related to the handling of immigration bonds by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
According to the lawsuit, filed by the law firm Motley Rice LLC in federal court for the Eastern District of New York, ICE held the funds so long that $240 million was eventually moved to a U.S. Treasury account for unclaimed funds.
The lawsuit seeks class-action status for individuals who paid cash to secure the release of family members detained by ICE. Motley Rice has been investigating the situation for two years.
Immigration bonds, set by ICE and immigration judges, allow noncitizens facing removal proceedings to be released while their cases are resolved. The average bond amount is approximately $6,000, according to the lawsuit.
The complaint claims that tens of thousands of individuals could be part of this class action. It states, “The precise number and identification of the class members will be ascertainable from the government’s records.”
The lawsuit notes that once an immigration case concludes, family and friends of detainees are generally entitled to a refund of the bond money. They may receive their funds immediately in some cases or within 60 days in others, as outlined in the ICE handbook. However, the lawsuit asserts that ICE “regularly fails to return these funds, even when all conditions have been met and proceedings have concluded.”
ICE has declined to comment on the matter, citing ongoing litigation.
The current case represents Douglas Cortez from Uniondale, New York, who paid a $10,000 bond for his friend’s release. Although his friend’s proceedings were dismissed in August 2023, Cortez still has not received any notification or refund for the bond more than a year later.
“They have taken thousands of dollars from hardworking immigrant families who deserve to have their money returned,” said Deepak Gupta, an attorney from Gupta Wessler LLP, which is also involved in the lawsuit. Gupta emphasized the aim of the lawsuit is to hold ICE accountable and ensure that similar situations do not occur in the future.
Gupta and his team estimated the $300 million figure based on thorough reviews of government documents and court records obtained through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.
Ada Salazar, 28, who is from El Salvador, also shared her experience. Her uncle posted a $5,000 bond for her release in February 2016. Now a legal resident since 2021, she is prepared to join the lawsuit to recover her uncle’s money.
“I hope to receive the money back, that is the promise they made,” Salazar, a mother of a 6-year-old and food truck owner in North Carolina, told The Associated Press.
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