A class action complaint has been filed by the American Civil Liberties Union against Nobles County and Nobles County Sheriff Kent Wilkening for Sheriff Wilkening’s “unwritten policy and practice of unlawfully exceeding his authority under Minnesota law by depriving persons of their liberty for suspected civil violations of federal immigration law.”
The complaint said that Sheriff Wilkening has exceeded his authority under Minnesota law by holding people “in custody for days, weeks, and even months after state law requires their release.”
The suit also states that “Minnesota sheriffs’ powers are limited to those expressly granted by the Minnesota Constitution and Minnesota statues. The Nobles County Sheriff’s policy and practice of placing an “immigration hold” based on immigration requests (sometimes referred to as “ICE Holds” because the requests are made by the U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (“ICE”), a division of the Department of Homeland Secruity) has resulted in Plaintiffs remaining in jail despite no longer being held for state custody.
The Plaintiffs, Rodrigo Esparza, Maria de Jesus de Pineda, Timoteo Martin Morales, and Oscar basavez Conseco, are seeking temporary and permanent injuctive relief, as well as a declaratory judgment determining that the policies and practices challenged within the class action suit exceed Sheriff Wilkening’s authority under Minnesota law and are unlawful.
In the suit, the plaintiffs are asking for damages for the false imprisionment that they state has been endured,
