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ACLU files lawsuit on behalf of detained Michigan residents
The ACLU of Michigan is focusing on 8 people who are in the country illegally, including a father of 3 who has leukemia.
(FOX 2) - The ACLU of Michigan is taking the federal government to court over a new immigration directive.
The lawsuit claims people with deep roots in the U.S. are being detained without bond hearings. A policy advocate says it violates due process and threatens to separate families across the country.
FOX 2 is now hearing how families have been feeling.
Big picture view:
The ACLU of Michigan is focusing on eight people who are in the country illegally, including a father of three who has leukemia. The claim was he had not been able to get the right medicine for his cancer.
According to the ACLU, Jose Daniel Contreras-Cervantes came to the U.S. at age 14 and has no criminal record. They say on August 5 he was pulled over by a Macomb County Sheriff’s officer for speeding, and he was taken into immigration custody.
The lawsuit challenges a new Trump Administration directive that strips immigrants in the country illegally of access to bond hearings. No matter how long they’ve lived in the U.S. or their family ties. Advocates say the policy could impact millions, forcing people into detention for months or years without judicial review… their lawyers question why immigration should be called for cases like this.
"What we’re seeing around the state is this local entanglement," said Miriam Aukerman with the ACLU. "With immigration enforcement so people like Jose are ending up in detention needlessly, it was feeding Jose into the deportation machine."
What's next:
The ACLU wants the people named in the suit to have a bond hearing or be released in seven days.