US settles lawsuit over '07 immigration raids
HARTFORD, Conn.—Attorneys for men arrested in immigration raids in New Haven more than four years ago say the U.S. government has agreed to pay $350,000 to settle a civil rights lawsuit.
The attorneys say deportation proceedings against the plaintiffs also will be halted under the agreement announced Tuesday.
Mark Pedulla of a Yale Law School clinic says it appears to be the largest monetary settlement ever paid by the U.S. in a suit over residential immigration raids.
The 11 plaintiffs alleged federal agents invaded their homes in the predominantly Latino neighborhood of Fair Haven without warrants on June 6, 2007. They argued the raids were retaliation for the mayor's plan to offer identification cards to all city residents regardless of immigration status.
A message seeking comment was left with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
