Omaha Mother Challenges ICE Detention After Bond Order in New Lawsuit

LINCOLN, Neb. — Today, the American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska filed a federal civil rights lawsuit seeking freedom for a woman who has been in the custody of immigration authorities since June’s Omaha worksite raid. Sabina Carmona-Lorenzo is asking for a judge to order her release on bond, which an immigration court judge granted a month ago, so that she can reunite with her family and help take care of her children.

This is the second case challenging Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention that the ACLU of Nebraska has brought in recent weeks. More impacted community members are detained in the same unjust circumstances.

Carmona-Lorenzo has been in the United States for more than 25 years. She and her husband have five children, all of whom are U.S. citizens. Three are minors. One of the adult children is currently in college but is now considering pausing his education to help support his family. The other is serving in the military.

ICE agents detained Carmona-Lorenzo and dozens of her coworkers in the June raid at Glenn Valley Foods in Omaha. She is currently four hours away from her family at Lincoln County Detention Center in North Platte. Although an immigration court judge granted Carmona-Lorenzo release on bond on July 15, she remains in detention due to an automatic stay issued by ICE . Her lawsuit argues that her continued detention extends beyond ICE's legal authority and violates her right to due process.

Carmona-Lorenzo's case follows a lawsuit that the ACLU of Nebraska announced earlier this month challenging nearly identical conduct. In that case, ICE blocked the release of another Nebraska mother who had been granted bond, seemingly based on new ‘interim guidance’ that asserts nearly all immigrants are ineligible for release on bond. The ACLU of Nebraska says that these back-to-back cases highlight the urgent need for immigration authorities to comply with constitutional requirements and respect immigration court judges’ bond determinations.

Speaking through a Spanish interpreter, Carmona-Lorenzo said:

“I wish no one had to live through this. It is horrible. I hope God gives me an opportunity to stay with my family and see my children graduate. I do not ask for anything else but to remain in the country to experience what I have worked so hard to accomplish for my children.”

Christopher Pacheco-Carmona, one of the plaintiff’s sons, said:

“It’s not something that I was ready to face. The impact that this has had on my family has been, to put it into simple terms, it’s just been tough. It’s tough on all of us. [...] Honestly, it’s the only thing I think about right now is my mom being home, and that day can’t come soon enough.”

Jennifer Houlden, acting legal director at the ACLU of Nebraska, said:

“Our client was granted bond by the Immigration Judge and has met every requirement for release, yet ICE is holding her without any individualized reason and without giving her a fair chance to challenge this decision. Due process is not a suggestion; it is a constitutional right. We are committed to ending these unlawful detentions and ensuring our client can return to her family.”

Like many of the people taken by ICE in the June Omaha raid, Carmona-Lorenzo has no criminal convictions and was a key earner for her family.

Litigation remains underway in the case the ACLU of Nebraska filed earlier this month.

Separately, litigation also continues in a class action lawsuit challenging the no-bond practice brought by the ACLU’s national office and others.