A federal judge ordered Suffolk County to pay $112 million to 674 people illegally detained in county jails on Long Island, sanctioning violations of immigrants’ constitutional rights by local and federal authorities.
The ruling, ending a seven-year legal battle, is among New York’s largest verdicts for illegal immigration detention.
Court documents reviewed by PIX11 News and NewsNation state that plaintiffs remained jailed after posting bail or closing their cases. The judge found the Sheriff’s Office and the county directly responsible for violating 14th Amendment rights to liberty and due process.
“This decision brings long-awaited accountability,” said José Pérez, deputy general counsel for LatinoJustice PRLDEF, the organization representing the plaintiffs, as quoted by NewsNation. “The jury confirmed what we have maintained from the beginning: Suffolk County’s actions trampled on the fundamental due process rights guaranteed to every person on American soil.”
The events date back to 2017, when the sheriff’s office agreed to detain individuals at the request of ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), even after their release was ordered by state courts.
One of the plaintiffs, a 34-year-old resident from Guatemala, had been arrested in Central Islip in April 2017. According to his complaint, Suffolk County police questioned him about his immigration status before transferring him to a local jail.
His family had paid $1,000 in bail as part of an agreement stipulating that he would later appear before an immigration court. He was never informed that his bail had been paid. Instead of being released, he was turned over to federal agents and transferred first to the Varick Street Detention Center in Manhattan and then to the Bergen County Jail in New Jersey.
The judge found this detention clearly violated his liberty, causing severe physical and psychological harm, loss of enjoyment of life, emotional trauma, humiliation, and economic loss.
The case exposes problematic cooperation between sheriffs and federal immigration authorities. Some jurisdictions informally agreed with ICE to hold non-citizens for transfer, even when state law prohibited it.
New York courts have repeatedly held that ICE detainers are not judicial warrants and cannot justify detention after local charges are filed.
The federal judge’s ruling reinforces this jurisprudence, reaffirming that local authorities cannot substitute for the federal government in enforcing immigration law, particularly when it involves depriving someone of liberty without a court order.
$166,000 Per Person on Average
The judgment provides for $112 million in compensation, averaging approximately $166,000 per person. Suffolk County will have to pay the entire amount, according to the decision, due to the direct responsibility of its detention facility.
Local authorities have not yet announced whether they will appeal the decision. This ruling represents a major setback for New York counties that had cooperated with federal services under the first Trump presidency, as part of a more aggressive immigration policy.
Suffolk County had signed a 2016 collaboration protocol allowing its officers to “temporarily detain” individuals subject to ICE notification. Several civil rights organizations were already denouncing the practice as “unconstitutional and discriminatory” at that time.
For LatinoJustice PRLDEF, the New York-based nonprofit organization that represented most of the plaintiffs, this victory extends beyond the financial realm.
“This is a strong signal sent to all local jurisdictions that continue to illegally cooperate with ICE,” Mr. Pérez said. “Constitutional rights apply to all people, regardless of their nationality or status.”
The case has also drawn the attention of several New York elected officials, including Representative Nydia Velázquez, who hailed “a historic verdict reminding us that the Constitution makes no distinction between citizens and foreign residents,” according to remarks reported in local press.
Human rights advocates hope this decision will prompt other countries to terminate their cooperation agreements with ICE, which are often inherited from previous federal programs. Meanwhile, several states — including California and New Jersey — have enacted laws that explicitly prohibit local forces from extending the detention of individuals solely at the request of federal immigration authorities.
This case is also expected to encourage other class-action lawsuits. Similar cases are currently pending in Nassau and Westchester counties, where plaintiffs claim to have been subjected to prolonged detention without a warrant.
Based on a report by Dominique Jack for NewsNation/PIX11 New York
