WASHINGTON — The acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is criticizing a judge’s ruling barring the agency from relying solely on databases that have led to the wrongful detention of U.S. citizens.
Speaking Thursday at the White House, Matthew Albence called the September ruling “judicial overreach.”
U.S. District Judge André Birotte Jr. barred ICE from issuing requests known as “detainers” based solely on database searches considered to be unreliable. The ruling applies to states that don’t explicitly authorize civil immigration arrests.
ICE frequently uses detainers to take into custody people in the U.S. illegally who have been arrested by local police.
The ruling said 42 detainers in a nine-month period were lifted because the person was a citizen.
Asked about the detention of citizens, Albence declined to comment.
The Associated Press
