RI Judge Dismisses ACLU Lawsuit Defending Illegal Aliens

A judge in Rhode Island has thrown out a lawsuit filed by the ACLU that challenged the detention of 14 Guatemalan immigrants that were pulled over for a minor traffic stop. The 14 immigrants were pulled over in Richmond, R.I. on Interstate-95, but all turned out to be in the country illegally.

U.S. District Judge Mary Lisi ruled that officer Thomas Chabot acted legally when he asked for all the men to produce identification, and when most of them couldn’t, he then asked for proof of citizenship. When they still failed to comply, he contacted immigration officials. He was instructed to bring the men to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement offices in Providence.

In the judges ruling, she cited a 2005 Supreme Court ruling that found that “an officer did not need independent reasonable suspicion to question an individual about her immigration status during the execution of a search warrant.” She added that inquiring about a person’s immigration status did not infringe upon the fourth amendment rights that protect from illegal searches and seizures.

In the suit, the ACLU claimed that the state violated the Racial Profiling Prevention Act and that discrimination played a role in the traffic stop and arrest.

The ACLU is appealing the case.

More can be found at the Providence Journal.