Haitian facing deportation after ‘habitual’ traffic offenses latest test of Trump immigration policy
James Lacroix Miami-Dade Police
By David Ovalle
Haitian national James Lacroix pleaded guilty Tuesday to the minor crime of driving with a suspended license, ending his criminal case after more than seven weeks spent behind bars.
But Lacroix didn’t walk out of a Miami-Dade jail.
Instead, jailers kept him in custody under the county’s controversial decision to detain immigrants slated for deportation by federal authorities, even if their sentences have been finished. Lacroix has been ordered deported to Haiti, not for any violent crimes, but apparently because of a long history of driving without a valid license
In the latest ripple effect from the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration, a Miami-Dade judge has set a Thursday hearing to explore the legal authority the county jail has for keeping Lacroix behind bars.
Trump is racist, and lied to EVERYONE. Now, we get to see his BS come to reality, and we all will suffer from the stupidity.
Judge: Dade Holding Arrested Immigrants For ICE Is Unconstitutional
March 3, 2017 10:35 AM By Gary Nelson
Filed Under: Gary Nelson, Immigration, Miami-Dade County, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
(Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
(Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) — A Miami-Dade judge ruled Friday that county holds of arrested immigrants for ICE is unconstitutional but debate is not over.
While the judge ruled against the county, the practical effect of the ruling on arrested immigrations is not yet clear since the county can appeal the decision and they plan to .
Just a day before, attorneys for a detained immigrant and Miami-Dade squared off in court over Mayor Carlos Gimenez’s and the county commission’s decision to honor ICE requests to hold arrested immigrants beyond the time they would otherwise be released.
“The Constitution and the Bill of Rights require probable cause,” attorney Louis Reizenstein told Circuit Judge Milton Hirsch on Thursday.
The county’s detentions for ICE have made for huge controversy and protest. The case before the court involved James Lacroix, a Haitian immigrant charged with chronically driving without a license.
“There is no authority for states to hold individuals under a federal detainer request when their case is closed,” Reizenstein said.
The county countered it has entered into a reasonable agreement with the feds.
“Please, hold this individual on our behalf, pursuant to our authority to detain him, for 48 hours so we can coordinate our agents to go pick that individual up,” said County Attorney Michael Valdes in explaining the ICE requests.
“They think 48 hours is a short period of time?” said Reizenstein. “Let them go sit in the jail for 48 hours and tell us how it feels. This is unconstitutional.”
The mayor and commission agreed to the ICE detention requests for fear of losing federal funding. The detainee’s attorney calls it an unconstitutional ‘caving in.’
“This is nothing more than the federal government threatening and blackmailing states and Miami-Dade County,” Reizenstein said.
As for the Haitian immigrant James LaCroix, ICE picked him up from the county jail for deportation Wednesday, where he was being held after completing his sentence of 7 days for time served.
But this case isn’t about deportation. It’s about the detention policy, one which the judge upended on Friday.