On August 5, 2011, the ACLU of Utah with cooperating attorney B. Kent Morgan of The Dyer Law Group filed a complaint in federal district court on behalf of 22-year-old college student Enrique Uroza. The complaint was filed in response to an incident in which Mr. Uroza was held at the Salt Lake County Metro Jail (Metro) for 39 days after his family posted the court-ordered bail. Mr. Uroza was held pursuant to an unconstitutional jail policy, which purportedly gives the jail authority to hold individuals who cannot prove to the satisfaction of jail officials that they are lawfully present in the United States.
This policy subjects individuals to unlawful detention, thereby depriving individuals of their personal liberty without due process of law, in violation of the United States Constitution.
On March 26, 2012, an amended complaint was filed alleging that officials and agents of Immigration, Customs and Enforcement (“ICE”), an agency of the Department of Homeland Security, are responsible in part for the unconstitutional and illegally prolonged imprisonment of 23-year-old Enrique Uroza. The amended complaint also adds the United States as a defendant, alleging that its agents caused Mr. Uroza to be unlawfully deprived of his liberty.
On August 25, 2014, a settlement was announced between Mr. Uroza and Salt Lake County followed later by a settlement with the United States and federal agents that were named as defendants.
NEWS UPDATES
PRESS RELEASE: ACLU of Utah and Salt Lake County Settle Lawsuit Regarding Immigration Detention Policies >> (8/25/14)
PRESS RELEASE: ACLU of Utah Adds Federal Government to Suit Challenging Salt Lake County's Policy Of Indefinite Detention (3/26/12)
NEWS ARTICLE: ACLU sues Utah jail over policy on immigrants (Salt Lake Tribune, August 10, 2011)
PRESS RELEASE: ACLU of Utah Sues Salt Lake County and Sheriff Winder Over Unlawful Detention of College Student (8/5/11)
