United States Third Circuit

Dismissal of a 42 U.S.C. 1983 action in which plaintiff alleged that defendant-county detained him without probable cause for more than 48 hours, without notice of the basis of his detention or the ability to contest it, when he was detained under an immigration detainer issued by federal immigration officials even though he is a U.S. citizen, is vacated and remanded, where: 1) immigration detainers are permissive and do not and cannot compel a state or local law enforcement agency to detain suspected aliens subject to removal; and 2) given this, defendant-county was free to disregard the immigration detainer, and it therefore cannot use as a defense that its own policy did not cause the deprivation of plaintiff's constitutional rights.

Appellate Information

• Decided 03/04/2014
• Published 03/04/2014

Judges

• FUENTES

Court

• United States Third Circuit

Counsel