Lawsuit says New Orleans Sheriff Marlin Gusman holds immigrants too long

From [HERE] Members of the Congress of Day Laborers on Wednesday filed a lawsuit against Orleans Parish Sheriff Marlin Gusman in U.S. District Court, alleging he holds immigrants for far longer than the 48 hours permitted by federal law after all charges are resolved.

On Wednesday afternoon, the group began a 24-hour prayer vigil in front of Gusman's office "to demand an end to the racial profiling and race-based deportation."

Gusman's spokesman did not respond to requests for comment.

At the request of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency, local authorities may hold defendants on an immigration detainer for 48 hours, not counting weekends and holidays. If ICE agents don't pick up a prisoner within that time frame, then, by law, local authorities must release them.

The suit was filed on behalf of two plaintiffs: Antonio Ocampo, who was held for 91 days, and Mario Cacho, who was held for 164 days.

The group also says Gusman voluntarily accepts "ICE holds" though he's not required to, said Saket Soni, director of the New Orleans Workers' Center for Racial Justice, which includes the Congress of Day Laborers. The group disagrees with that policy.

Two years ago, Cacho completed his sentence for disturbing the peace on Aug. 21, 2009, but the sheriff continued to hold him based on a July request by ICE. In order for ICE to legally take custody of Cacho, it had to issue an arrest warrant by Aug. 25, the suit contends.

 Orleans Parish Criminal Sheriff Marlin Gusman shows off the holding cells during a 2009 tour inside the a jail building located directly behind Orleans Parish Criminal District Court.

 Despite filing a written grievance with jail officials and making "numerous oral requests asking to be released," Cacho remained in Orleans Parish Prison until Feb. 5, 2010, when he filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and was released to ICE.

Ocampo was booked in February on charges including attempted murder and aggravated battery. But the Orleans Parish district attorney's office charged him only with aggravated battery and simple battery. On Aug. 12, he pleaded guilty to two counts of simple battery and was given a five-month sentence.

Though he should have been released Aug. 16, with credit for time he'd served in jail, Gusman continued to hold Ocampo on an ICE request made in late February, according to a petition filed by Jennifer Rosenbaum for the Workers' Center.

The detainer request indicated that ICE suspected Ocampo wasn't a U.S. citizen, but didn't mention whether he was a legal resident or otherwise in the country lawfully, the petition noted. Soni said the agency didn't inquire about Ocampo's status.

The suit notes that Ocampo also filed written grievances and made oral requests for release, once to the warden himself.

In November, U.S. District Chief Judge Sarah Vance told Timothy Richardson, one of Gusman's attorneys, that she could find no law to support holding somebody for more than 48 hours on an immigration detainer.

At that hearing, Richardson told the judge that the Sheriff's Office had never received notice from the Orleans Parish criminal clerk that Ocampo no longer had pending charges.

At that hearing, Vance said that she hadn't heard any justification for holding Ocampo and ordered his release. "I'm not saying the sheriff is intentionally detaining a person who deserved to be released in blatant disregard of his rights," she said.