LOS ANGELES (AP) — A federal lawsuit filed Wednesday accuses President Donald Trump’s administration of systematically targeting brown-skinned individuals in Southern California amid an ongoing immigration crackdown that has left the region “under siege.”
The court filing in U.S. District Court claims that federal agents have violently and indiscriminately arrested people without probable cause while conducting “immigration raids flooding street corners, bus stops, parking lots, agricultural sites, day laborer corners.”
The lawsuit seeks to have the court block the Trump administration’s “ongoing pattern and practice of flouting the Constitution and federal law” during actions in and around Los Angeles.
”These guys are popping up, rampant all over the city, just taking people randomly and we want that particular practice to end,” Mohammad Tajsar, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, told the Los Angeles Times.
In addition, the complaint claims that those arrested are held in “dungeon-like” conditions without access to lawyers.
Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, said in an email that “any claims that individuals have been ‘targeted’ by law enforcement because of their skin color are disgusting and categorically FALSE.”
McLaughlin said “enforcement operations are highly targeted, and officers do their due diligence” before making arrests.
“All detainees are provided with proper meals, medical treatment, and have opportunities to communicate with lawyers and their family members,” she said.
The complaint centers around three detained immigrants, several immigrant rights groups and two U.S. citizens, one who was held despite showing agents his identification. It comes days after the Trump administration sued Los Angeles to overturn what it called an illegal sanctuary city law.
Tens of thousands of people participated in recent rallies over immigration raids and the subsequent deployment of the National Guard and Marines. Los Angeles prosecutors have charged more than 40 people in connection with protest-related violence and vandalism. Among the latest people charged were a man and woman accused of assaulting police horses and a 17-year-old boy who faces felony counts, including attempted murder and assault against an officer.
At least 14 people are facing separate federal charges on allegations of assaulting police officers with cinder blocks and Molotov cocktails, and conspiracy to impede arrests.
