In early January, Border Patrol agents from Imperial County drove 150 miles to Bakersfield and arrested dozens of immigrants suspected of being in the country illegally.
On social media, Chief Patrol Agent Gregory Bovino praised his agents for arresting “bad actors across Kern County.” Of the 78 people arrested during the two-day operation, Bovino said “many” had criminal records.
That raid, officially dubbed “Operation Return to Sender,” had a significant impact on the region’s immigrant community. News reports detailed cases of children too afraid to go to school and adults too scared to go to work.
Now, that operation is the focal point of a class action lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) against U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials, Bovino and other Border Patrol officials. ACLU lawyers representing members of the United Farm Workers and five Kern County residents filed the suit on Feb. 26 in federal court.
“They detained individuals regardless of citizenship status,” ACLU attorney Brisa Velazquez Otis said of the raid. “There were individuals who were permanent residents and citizens who were harassed, stopped and questioned.”
The ACLU’s 71-page complaint described the operation as “a fishing expedition” in which Border Patrol agents “made warrantless arrests indiscriminately,” and then “pressured people in their custody to accept voluntary departure without providing any information about the serious consequences it carries.”
When asked for comment, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) did not address any of the specific allegations in the complaint.
Instead, the agency wrote, “Border Patrol enforcement actions are highly targeted. Businesses that human traffic and exploit migrants for cheap labor should be afraid — we will go after them.”
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Lawyers working on the case said it was very difficult to find immigrants willing to speak out about their experience. Some of them could not get through a full conversation without breaking down, said Velazquez Otis.
“It was very difficult for them to speak about this,” she said. “I very much appreciate and respect them for taking this on. It was a huge ask.”
ACLU lawyers ultimately found five plaintiffs willing to attach their full names to the lawsuit. Among them is Yolanda Aguilera Martinez, a 56-year-old farmworker who has had legal status since she was 20.
The lawsuit claims Border Patrol agents pulled Aguilera Martinez over while she was driving to a doctor’s appointment.
“At no point did any of the agent identify themselves, explain to Ms. Aguilera Martinez why they had stopped the van, explain why they had arrested her, or produce a warrant,” the lawsuit said.
Agents held her in handcuffs until someone sent Aguilera Martinez a photo of her green card, according to the lawsuit.
“Ms. Aguilera Martinez is now afraid of police officers,” the lawsuit claims. “Seeing police officers has caused her to experience flashbacks of being stopped and violently handcuffed by Border Patrol agents.”
Among other things, the suit asks the court to order the return of deported plaintiffs to the United States.
Among them is Juan Vargas Mendez, a 37-year-old farmworker. He is married to a U.S. citizen, has three U.S. citizen children and was caregiver to a U.S. citizen stepson who is diagnosed with epilepsy, according to the lawsuit.
Vargas, who has no criminal history, was arrested while driving home from working in the fields with several co-workers. Border Patrol agents then drove him to El Centro, according to the lawsuit.
The complaint alleges that Vargas has a medical problem with his nose that makes it difficult to breathe without the help of a nasal spray. He did not have that nasal spray with him while detained in El Centro.
In El Centro, a Border Patrol agent “presented Mr. Vargas with a small digital pad where they directed him to sign his name. The pad was about the size of a cell phone and did not display the document they asked him to sign. Cold, in need of his breathing aid, and afraid of going to prison, Mr. Vargas signed the digital pad,” the lawsuit said.
ACLU lawyers believe that signature was for a voluntary departure form, which waives someone’s right to see an immigration judge before being deported.
About two hours later, he was allegedly deported to Mexicali.
