Four Clients Freed from ICE Custody in Four-Week Span

LINCOLN, Neb. – A young Lincoln resident is the fourth American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Nebraska client to leave U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody over a four-week span.

On Friday, a federal judge ordered immigration officials to release Virginia Lissbeth Pineda Lemus from the Lincoln County Detention Center in North Platte.

Pineda, a 21-year-old who came to the United States from El Salvador five years ago, came into ICE custody in late January. Earlier this month, she filed a lawsuit with the help of ACLU of Nebraska attorneys, challenging ICE’s refusal to provide her with a bond hearing. Although courts across the country have ruled against ICE's recent mandatory detention policy, including in a class action lawsuit, ICE continues to deny bond hearings to immigrants based on its assertion that nearly all immigrants in detention are ineligible for release on bond.

Pineda’s release is the latest in a streak of victories for ACLU of Nebraska clients, which began with release of an Omaha client who had protection against deportation under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA). In the following two weeks, a Schuyler mother and an Omaha father regained their freedom through court-ordered bond hearings. The most recent order, Pineda’s case, differed from others given that the judge ordered outright release instead of a bond hearing.

In Spanish, Pineda said:

“I feel very grateful, first and foremost to God, and to the ACLU and my immigration attorney Raúl Guerra for giving me the support I needed to get out of the hell I went through. This was deeply traumatic. I feel like I was treated more like an animal than a person. While I am so relieved to be free, I will be praying for others I met in ICE custody who deserve the same opportunity that I had.”

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

“This is what a local check on federal overreach looks like. Four community members had a chance to appear before a judge, and now they are back with their loved ones. As ICE continues to scale up its operations, we are going to keep doing what we can for community members who are being unjustly detained without due process. The bottom line is that we are talking about an opportunity to ask for release on bond so that community members can work through immigration proceedings in the community with their families instead of in custody. That is not too much to ask.”

The U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers Nebraska, is currently considering the legality of ICE’s mandatory detention policy. A three-judge panel heard arguments in the government’s appeal of a federal court decision last month.