Federal judge orders ICE to halt ‘likely illegal’ policies in Baldwin County

A federal district judge Monday ordered immigration officers to stop using three policies that are “likely illegal” to detain construction workers, following a lawsuit by a Baldwin County construction worker who said he was detained over his appearance.

Jeffrey Beaverstock, chief United States District Judge for the Southern District of Alabama, wrote in the 24-page order the warrantless entry, preemptive detainment and continued detainment policies used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers could violate the Consitution and issued a stay to temporarily halt officers from using the policies on construction sites.

“In the court’s opinion, staying the likely unlawful policies is a less drastic remedy sufficient to redress Plaintiff’s alleged injury,” Beaverstock wrote.

Leonardo Garcia Venegas, a construction worker from Baldwin County who is an American citizen, filed a lawsuit last year alleging he was detained by ICE officers twice because of his appearance.  

Messages seeking comment with Venegas’ attorney Jared McClain and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security were left Tuesday.

McClain said in a press release Monday the stay was “a huge blow to DHS’s lawless enforcement practices.”

“The government stood up in court and argued that they don’t need warrants to enter private construction sites and round up all the workers, and that they can’t trust government-issued IDs. By setting aside those unconstitutional policies, the court has restored the rule of law. Construction workers like Leo can finally go to work in peace again,” McClain said.

According to the lawsuit, Venegas, who was born in Florida and has lived in Alabama since he was 14, was detained once on May 21 and again on June 12 while working on private construction sites. During both incidents, Venegas presented his STAR ID to ICE officers who told him it could have been fake.

Victoria Todd, an attorney for the defendants, claimed in a court filing that during the May 21 raid, Venegas attempted to interfere with an arrest, which posed a safety risk. 

“(Venegas) attempted to move around the HSI (Homeland Securities Investigator) special agent, who instructed plaintiff to stop. However, the plaintiff instead quickened his pace, and circled the arresting ERO (Enforcement and Removal Operations) deportation officer,” the response said. “Plaintiff’s actions caused the HSI special agent to be concerned for safety—due to the presence of a concrete pad with exposed rebar and other sharp objects in the area—and due to Plaintiff’s refusal to comply with any commands given.”

Venegas also alleged in his lawsuit that white and Black construction workers were also working on the construction site during the May 21 ICE raid but were not detained by agents. Beaverstock said because non-Hispanic people weren’t detained, the government’s argument about officer safety was unsupported.

“The government’s position that the safety of the officers was a factor is unsupported by the record, especially given that there were multiple individuals on the jobsite who did not appear to be Hispanic, and none of those individuals were detained in the name of safety,” Beaverstock wrote.

Beaverstock said in the order that the continued detainment policy, which allows immigration officers to continue detaining workers even after they show evidence of citizenship or lawful presence, is “likely to run afoul of the Fourth Amendment” since the identification is only issued to “citizens or those who are lawfully present.”

“Venegas’ license also has a star in the corner, which he could obtain only with the documents DHS certifies are compliant with the federal REAL ID Act,” Beaverstock wrote. “Under that Act, a REAL ID “suffice[s] to establish lawful presence.”

In order to receive a STAR ID, multiple forms of identification must be provided, including a passport or other government-issued document with identity and date of birth; a Social Security number and proof of address.

According to Deportation Data Center— a project done by University of California, Berkeley and University of California, Los Angeles as of January 2025— over 10,000 Alabamians have been arrested and detained by ICE. June 2026 had the highest number of arrests with detentions, with 934 Alabamians being arrested and detained by ICE.