The Department of Homeland Security is facing a new class action lawsuit in North Carolina, accusing officers of making illegal, warrantless arrests, including of U.S. citizens.
A lawsuit filed Tuesday by the ACLU of North Carolina, Southern Coalition for Social Justice and Democracy Forward claims federal immigration agents are breaking the law by arresting people without warrants or probable cause.
The lawsuit names five plaintiffs, and four of those are U.S. citizens. All say they were stopped or detained by immigration agents with no legal justification. Three of them were arrested during Border Patrol’s Charlotte operation in November.
ACLU of North Carolina Legal Director Kristi Graunke says agents are supposed to follow strict rules and not use extreme force.
“We are asking the court to say that ICE cannot behave this way, that CBP cannot behave this way, that the Department of Homeland Security has to follow its own rules and regulations," Graunke said.
The case was filed in federal court in Charlotte. WFAE reached out to DHS for comment, but had not received a response as of Wednesday afternoon.
