Judge orders release of 24 unlawfully detained individuals

A federal judge ordered immigration officials to release 24 individuals being unlawfully held in Cascade County, some for more than six weeks, Upper Seven Law announced in a news release.

Upper Seven Litigation Director Molly Danahy said in a statement those people will be allowed to return to their families.

“In Montana, we know how important the rule of law is,” Danahy said. “And we will not stop holding federal officials to the basic rules set out in our constitution that keep us free.”

The release order from U.S. District Court Judge Brian Morris came Friday.

It said proper arrests require a warrant or a belief a noncitizen is in the country in violation of the law and presents a risk of escape, but no evidence indicates either condition existed.

“This practice of after-the-fact arrest warrants can be called many things — illegal, improper, and unconstitutional, among them,” the order said, citing a similar case. “But whatever label one wishes to apply, the practice is fundamentally at odds with and offensive to lawful, constitutional behavior in this country.”

The case is part of a class-action lawsuit.

The court order said the judge agreed the federal government’s warrantless arrests were illegal, but the government “declined to abide by the court’s” judgment.

Instead, the government “continued to hold wrongfully detained class members” anyway, so the court ordered the class members to file individual petitions for release.

Monday, Upper Seven senior legal counsel Andres Haladay said the firm has filed 37 petitions for release of individuals held after warrantless arrests by immigration officers since the order.

The case started with the unlawful arrest in late July near Lewistown of Jesus Verde Hernandez by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol.

The judge ordered his release and also the release of a father and child arrested under similar circumstances — without a warrant, and also without suspicion they’re breaking the law and likely to escape before a warrant can be issued.

The government has said it issued warrants after the arrests, and it disagrees with the court’s determination.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office could not be reached for comment in time for this story.

Haladay said the list of class members changes as people’s specific circumstances come to light. He said the government agreed 24 of the 37 people who petitioned for release had situations similar to the father and minor whose requests the court granted.

But 13 people are still detained and in limbo pending additional arguments from the federal government to the court about their respective situations, Haladay said. He said Upper Seven will continue to file petitions for remaining class members.

In an order, the court has said it will consider them on a rolling basis to give the government time to respond.