NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – Frank Barker, 58, was brought to the United States as a legal resident from Barbados at the age of nine. After battling drug addiction, he was arrested and served an eight-month sentence at Rikers Island in 2008. But instead of being released, Barker was picked up by ICE and held for a year in a detention center illegally. He is not alone.
Cases like Barker’s resulted in New York City agreeing to pay up to $92.5 million to resolve claims from more than 20,000 individuals who were unlawfully detained beyond their scheduled release dates by the NYC Department of Correction between 1997 and 2012.
The settlement, presented to the court by the law firms of Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel, LLP, and Benno & Associates, P.C., which allows individuals held past their release dates due to ICE detainer requests to seek compensation, was approved Wednesday by the New York State Supreme Court.
An ICE detainer is a request sent to local law enforcement asking them to hold an individual for up to 48 hours after their scheduled release, allowing ICE to take custody for immigration-related reasons. However, the lawsuit found that some people were held far longer, sometimes for days, weeks, and months violating their rights.
“We are proud to bring a measure of justice to the individuals who experienced a loss of liberty and a disruption of their lives due to this unwarranted and excessive detention,” said Debra L. Greenberger, one of the attorneys in the case. “This settlement should be a reminder that all individuals are entitled to due process of law.”
The settlement stems from a lawsuit filed by Oscar Onadia in 2010 after he was held for 41 days beyond his five-day sentence for unlicensed driving. Although Onadia passed away earlier this year, his wife will receive $25,000 as part of the settlement, according to The New York Times.
New York City denies liability but has agreed to create a fund to compensate class members and cover attorneys’ fees and settlement costs. Settlement payments will be determined by how long individuals were overdetained, with those unlawfully held eligible to receive awards of up to tens of thousands of dollars.
In total, over 20,000 individuals were collectively held for more than 166,000 days past their scheduled release dates, according to the law firm's press release. Some of these individuals now live in the United States, while others reside in countries such as Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Jamaica.
New York City no longer complies with most ICE detainer requests, due to a series of laws passed between 2011 and 2014. These laws reduced the city’s cooperation with federal immigration enforcement to protect immigrants’ rights and prevent unnecessary detentions.
The old policy was widely criticized for making immigrants afraid to cooperate with police, fearing they might be reported to ICE. Courts also ruled that ICE detainers do not establish probable cause of a crime, making prolonged detention illegal.
"As someone who has lived in fear of ICE and who lost a year of his life to being detained, I applaud this lawsuit and encourage anyone who has experienced similar treatment or who has a family member or friend who has been impacted by this, to take action to be included in this class,” Barker, now living in the Bronx, said.
Individuals covered by this settlement can file a claim by visiting www.NYCICEsettlement.com.