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Court preliminarily approves 'historic' settlement won by Latino workers targeted in 2018 raid [1]
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Date: 2022-10-20
“The plaintiffs allege that armed U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) officers illegally targeted the Latinx workers for detention, excessive force and false arrest,” a release said. It was the largest workplace raid in nearly ten years, and one where agents had boasted about rounding up Latino workers before any raid had even taken place. Their white coworkers were left alone. Surveillance video later showed at least one Latino worker being violently assaulted by a federal agent.
Under the settlement agreement, $475,000 will be split among the small group of Latino workers who initially launched the litigation. $550,000 will be divided among the remaining class members, with the Tennessee Outlook estimating that they would receive between $5,000 and $6,000 each. The remaining amount is expected to go to NILC and the Southern Poverty Law Center, which represented the workers in court. Federal immigration officials have also agreed that their membership in the lawsuit “can be included in any applications for immigration relief,” the statement said.
A final approval hearing is expected in February 2023, lawyers said. The release noted the precedent-setting nature of the class action lawsuit, saying it was “paving the way for class wide relief for the unlawful policing and racial profiling alleged in the lawsuit.” The Justice Department had unsuccessfully fought the class action designation, in an attempt to force victims to have to file individual lawsuits, at great expense and difficulty.
“It is a testament to the power of a community who—rather than cower—came together and organized, in the face of the previous administration’s hateful campaign to demonize and instill fear in immigrant communities,” Lapointe continued. “We are pleased with this important step toward achieving justice for our courageous plaintiffs and look forward to continuing toward resolution in their case.”
Meredith Stewart, senior supervising attorney at SPLC’s Immigrant Justice Project, called the settlement “a historic moment for immigrant workers in America.”
The Latinx workers took a stand against federal agents targeting them because of their ethnicity,” Stewart said. “This unprecedented settlement, once finalized, will show law enforcement officers that there are consequences for unlawful policing and racial profiling, even when aimed at low-wage immigrant workers. The resolution of this case restores a measure of justice to the workers and reaffirms the rights of all workers in this country.”
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https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/10/20/2130159/-Court-preliminarily-approves-historic-settlement-won-by-Latino-workers-targeted-in-2018-raid
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