LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — The American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada says Las Vegas Metro Police handed one of their clients to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement without notice.
ACLU of Nevada says it has supplemented its petition challenging the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department’s agreement with ICE. According to a new release, Metro Police handed one of their clients to ICE days after a lawsuit was filed on his behalf.
Officials say this move raises questions about LVMPD’s authority to ignore orders issued by Nevada district courts.
The client, Sergio Morais-Hechavarria, is now in Texas under a federal immigration hold, according to the nonprofit. Officials say the transfer “not only violated his rights, but also undermines the authority of Nevada’s judicial system, exposing a dangerous breakdown in the separation of powers between state and federal government.”
“LVMPD releasing Mr. Morais-Hechavarria into ICE custody immediately after we filed a legal challenge to their unlawful cooperation with ICE is egregious. If a local government agency like LVMPD is permitted to arbitrarily enter into agreements with the federal government with no state legislative authorization to do so and to thereafter disregard a lawfully issued Nevada court order at its own discretion, we face a major separation of powers issue with both our state legislature and state judiciary lacking coequal power,” said Athar Haseebullah, executive director of ACLU Nevada. “Our challenge to LVMPD’s reckless and unlawful agreement with ICE is moving forward, and we remain confident in our arguments as we fight to preserve the integrity of Nevada’s judicial system, the Nevada legislature, and the civil liberties we hold dearly. We aren’t in the business of bending the knee.”
According to the news release, Metro’s agreement with ICE is a contract that allows officers to perform federal immigration enforcement without authorization from the Nevada Legislature.
FOX5 is reaching out to Metro for comment.
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