US ruling spurs halt to immigration detainers

Clackamas County Sheriff Craig Roberts is shown in this Dec. 12, 2012, file photo taken in Portland, Ore. A federal judge has ruled that Clackamas County in Oregon violated an immigrant woman’s constitutional rights by holding her in jail for two weeks without probable cause at the request of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, so that the agency could investigate whether she is subject to deportation. (AP Photo/The Oregonian, Thomas Boyd, file)

PORTLAND, Oregon— A federal judge has found that an immigrant woman’s constitutional rights were violated when she was held in jail without probable cause at the request of U.S. immigration authorities.

The ruling is one of several recent federal court decisions to place scrutiny on the practice of keeping people in jail after they’re eligible for release so that they can be considered for possible deportation.

The rulings make it clear that local officials are not required to honor the so-called immigration detainers, and that jurisdictions may be liable for doing so.

Several jurisdictions, including in Oregon, have announced they will stop honoring detainer requests.

Some counties and states had previously limited the practice, arguing it erodes trust in law enforcement and drags people with minor infractions into deportation.