A lawsuit filed last week accuses a Minnesota sheriff's office of unlawfully detaining a man for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after his bail was paid.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota and John Sear of Nelson Mullins filed the lawsuit in district court on behalf of Maikol Javier Suarez Varela.
Suarez Varela was arrested for burglary in January and taken to the Carver County jail.
The lawsuit alleges ICE sent Sheriff Jason Kamerud a detainer request, asking him to hold Suarez Varela "up to 48 hours after he would otherwise be released."
The ACLU says the Minnesota Freedom Fund posted Suarez Varela's $10,000 bail, but the jail didn't let him go.
"An ICE detainer isn't an arrest warrant," said Ian Bratlie, an ACLU attorney on the case. "If someone is entitled to be released from state custody, they have to be released. There's no authority to continue to hold them."
The lawsuit argues that holding an individual under an ICE detainer is a violation of the Fourth Amendment.
Federal records show Suarez Varela is now in ICE's custody at the jail in Albert Lea.
Bratlie says the Venezuelan entered the U.S. lawfully.
"His immigration status actually has no bearing on the legality of what the Carver County sheriff did," Bratlie said.
A spokesperson with ICE sent the following statement on Monday:
"U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested Maikol Javier Suarez-Verela Feb. 13 upon his release from the Carver County Jail, Chaska, Minnesota. Suarez was paroled into the United States Dec. 4 through the Paso del Norte Port of Entry [in El Paso, Texas]. He was arrested by the Carver County Sheriff's Office for second degree burglary Jan. 5 when he, along with accomplices, allegedly attempted to break into an ATM in Chanhassen, Minnesota. ICE placed a detainer with the jail the same day. He will remain in ICE custody pending the outcome of his removal proceedings."
Kamerud says he's reviewed the complaint but declines comment at this time.
In early February, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison released an opinion that state law prohibits law enforcement from holding someone on an immigration detainer if they would otherwise be released from custody. Ellison has also said his office will not enforce federal immigration laws as the Trump administration seeks to crack down on the border.
Bratlie says he's confident in their suit, but Rick Hodsdon says it's not so cut and dry.
Hodsdon is general counsel for the Minnesota Sheriffs Association but isn't involved in this case.
"What needs to be looked at here is how long did it takes from the decision being made to release and the actual release, and what was happening during that period of time?" Hodsdon said.
Hodsdon says it can take hours to complete the procedure of releasing someone and during that time, nothing prohibits a sheriff from notifying ICE of the release.
In that case, Hodsdon says, it is then up to ICE agents to arrive to the jail in time.
No matter what happens with the lawsuit against Carver County, Bratlie says it won't affect Suarez Varela's immigration case.
Riley Moser
Riley Moser is a digital producer who covers breaking news and feature stories for CBS Minnesota. Riley started her career at CBS Minnesota in June 2022 and earned an honorable mention for sports writing from the Iowa College Media Association the same year.