From Fox5 San Diego / November 25, 2025
A class action lawsuit filed on Tuesday alleges Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) of violating due process by targeting people after court proceedings in San Diego County.
Represented by the Center for Immigration Law and Policy (CILP) at UCLA’s School of Law and the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law (CHRCL), three detained immigrants filed the lawsuit.
“Entrapping and imprisoning people who are complying with their immigration requirements isn’t just cowardly, it’s unconstitutional,” CHRCL Legal Director Bardis Vakili said via a press release. “Due process requires that, before taking away our freedom, the government must prove at a hearing that detention is justified.”
Throughout the summer, ICE targeted people leaving court hearings at 880 Front Street, according to the lawsuit.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) maintains they target people at court buildings to ensure the safety of ICE agents and officers.
“The ability of law enforcement to make arrests of criminal illegal aliens in courthouses is common sense,” Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in May. “It conserves valuable law enforcement resources because they already know where a target will be. It is also safer for our officers and the community.”
DHS officials also said that this process is safer as court security ensures a person is unarmed.
The lawsuit alleges ICE of creating “traps” by asking people to come in for interviews after their court hearings, ultimately leading to their arrests.
Haitian Minister Chancely Fanfan, one of the petitioners, sought asylum after facing gang violence related to his Christian faith, the lawsuit states. Fanfan traveled through Haiti, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico to reach the United States.
Fanfan also waited a year in Mexico to ensure he received an appointment.
“It was crucial to me to wait for an appointment so that we could do things the right way,” Fanfan said in the press release.
After attending his hearing and a check-in on Oct. 20, Fanfan was detained in the basement of the federal building before being transferred to the Otay Mesa Detention Center.
Fanfan was part of a Baptist Church in San Diego and separated from his wife and son, who is a citizen, the lawsuit states.
ICE could not be immediately reached for comment regarding the lawsuit.
“This tactic shatters families, flagrantly violates the Constitution, and undermines the rule of law by punishing people appearing for court and appointments with ICE,” CILP Senior Staff Attorney Monika Langarica added. “We demand the immediate release of our clients and an end to this cruel practice, full stop.”
