Judge Won’t Limit Sites Where INS Seeks Aliens

The Immigration and Naturalization Service won a major victory in federal court Friday when a judge refused to bar INS agents from questioning suspected illegal aliens in public places, workplaces or in their homes.

U.S. District Judge David W. Williams’ ruling stems from a class-action suit filed in 1979 by a group of Orange County residents of Latino descent. The plaintiffs, who are all legal U.S. residents, alleged that INS agents violated their constitutional rights by entering their homes or businesses without search warrants.

“Congress intended to aid the INS to conduct a vigorous enforcement program when it passed the Immigration and Nationality Act, and it assumed that enforcement might include INS entries onto private premises for the purpose of questioning persons believed to be aliens and of detaining those aliens believed to be in this country illegally,” Williams wrote in his decision.

The Supreme Court previously held that factory surveys did not amount to a detention or seizure under the Fourth Amendment, Williams said.

Seen as INS Victory

“This is a victory, particularly in the sense of having our reputation, which had been besmirched, cleared,” said INS regional counsel William B. Odencrantz, in an interview.

“We fought this tooth and nail for eight years,” said Odencrantz, adding that Williams’ refusal to grant a permanent injunction limiting the way INS agents detain suspected illegal aliens will have a “positive effect on the morale of the agency.”

Peter A. Schey, executive director of the National Center for Immigrants’ Rights Inc., said he plans to file a motion for reconsideration because “we’re disappointed in the decision.

“The Latino community leaders in the Greater Los Angeles area have strongly urged us to appeal the decision,” said Schey. “They feel the decision might well signal a green light to the INS to increase its lawlessness during enforcement activities.”

Attorneys from the Legal Aid Society of Orange County, the ACLU Foundation of Southern California, and the Los Angeles Center for Law and Justice also participated in the case.

Witnesses Testified

During the two-week trial in June, witnesses described instances where INS agents stopped and questioned them because they looked Latino. They also testified about being questioned by INS agents at bus stations, soccer fields and on Broadway in downtown Los Angeles.

Manuela Zuniga, a Santa Ana resident, testified about a Sept. 30, 1985, raid at the Department of Motor Vehicles office in Santa Ana in which about 20 INS agents swarmed into the office and parking lot. Zuniga testified that the agents were just stopping “Latin-looking people.”

Williams said the encounters described in court did not violate constitutional rights.

“I cannot deny that authority to make even short detentive stops of a person is a nuisance to such person, especially if he or she is not an illegal alien, but the trend of the law is to permit such stops if the facts show that the officers’ conduct did not amount to a ‘seizure’ of that person,” Williams wrote.