Schuyler Woman Sues ICE Seeking Bond Hearing and Release

LINCOLN, Neb. – A longtime Schuyler resident filed a lawsuit Friday against federal and local officials in the hope of securing a bond hearing and release from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody so that she can return to her family.

The filing marks the fourth immigrants’ rights lawsuit that the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Nebraska has launched this year.

Lorena Alarcon-Alarcon has been in the Lincoln County Detention Center on an ICE detainer since January following an arrest for a misdemeanor offense. A citizen of Mexico, Alarcon-Alarcon has been in the United States for roughly 25 years. Most of that time has been in Schuyler. She has three sons, two of whom are grown and one still a teenager. She also has a pending request for relief from removal.

Alarcon-Alarcon is one of many immigrants nationally who have been denied a bond hearing based on ICE’s mandatory detention policy, which asserts nearly all detained immigrants are ineligible for bond hearings and release on bond. Although a federal class action lawsuit vacated ICE’s mandatory detention policy, ICE has continued to deny bond hearings to immigrants the agency takes into custody.

Earlier this week, a federal judge in Nebraska ordered a bond hearing for another ACLU of Nebraska client in similar circumstances, writing that his “detention without [a bond hearing] is unlawful.”

Alarcon-Alarcon's lawsuit argues that denial of her bond hearing violates the Immigration and Nationality Act and the judge’s order in the class action lawsuit. Her lawsuit requests a bond hearing within seven days or her immediate release. She hopes to regain her freedom to take care of her 16-year-old son while she works through immigration proceedings.

Speaking through a Spanish interpreter, Alarcon-Alarcon said that up until now she has had no run-ins with the law or immigration authorities in the more than two decades she has been in the United States. She said her presence in the country hurts no one, and she hopes to be free soon.

Her oldest son, Luis Gonzalez, said:

“This isn’t something I was prepared for. Watching my mom remain in detention for over a month has been one of the hardest things my family has ever faced. She is a devoted mother, and this separation has taken a heavy toll on all of us. We are simply asking for the chance for her to come home while her case continues, so she can be with her children where she belongs.”

ACLU of Nebraska Staff Attorney Jamel J. W. Connor said:

"ICE wants to force longstanding community members like our client to choose between self-deportation or years in custody working through immigration proceedings without so much as an opportunity to seek release on bond. That is both unethical and unlawful. The bottom line is that our client has a right to a bond hearing. We will do all we can to ensure that she has a chance to make her case for being reunited with her boys.”

The ACLU of Nebraska says it believes many other people in ICE custody in Nebraska are being unlawfully denied bond hearings. Earlier this week, the nonprofit legal organization and partners hosted a training for more than 50 Nebraska attorneys who had expressed interest in providing pro bono representation for detained immigrants.