News Release - ACLU Challenges Colorado State Agency's Policy of Confiscating Immigration Documents That Employees Consider "Suspicious"

ACLU Challenges Colorado State Agency's Policy of Confiscating
Immigration Documents That Employees Consider "Suspicious"

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 16, 1996

The American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado (ACLU) filed suit today to challenge a policy of the Colorado Division of Motor Vehicles ("DMV") that instructs low-level employees to confiscate immigration documents that they suspect are fraudulent.

The ACLU sued on behalf of Maria Juventina Flores, a legal permanent resident who immigrated from El Salvador. She showed her green card when she applied for a Colorado state identification card for which she was eligible. A clerk at the Glenwood Springs office of the Motor Vehicle Division believed the green card was "suspicious" and summarily confiscated it.

In later correspondence with the ACLU, DMV admitted that the confiscated green card was genuine. The agency cannot return the card, however, because it has been lost.

"The DMV admits our client's green card was genuine, but it still defends its actions," said Mark Silverstein, ACLU Legal Director. "In a letter to our client, the DMV explained that 'it is our policy to confiscate documents that we suspect are fraudulent.'"

"This policy is a recipe for unfair discrimination against thousands of law-abiding immigrants who, like our client, are living in this state with the knowledge, consent, and permission of the United States government," Silverstein said. "There is no state or federal law that authorizes Colorado employees to confiscate immigration documents that are issued by the federal government. This is especially true when there is no warrant and the employees are acting merely on suspicion."

"The Fourth Amendment forbids unreasonable searches and seizures. Even a police officer cannot seize papers or property on the basis of mere suspicion, Silverstein continued. "The employees in the Motor Vehicle Division are not peace officers. Nor are they the INS. They have no special training that enables them to determine whether an immigration document is genuine."

"Our client was humiliated and terrified for no good reason," Silverstein said. "She felt powerless and helpless. She tried to explain that she could not leave without her green card, but the clerk at the DMV threatened to have her arrested for trespass."

According to the ACLU, the clerk gave Ms. Flores a telephone number and told her to call in two weeks if she wanted to know the status and whereabouts of the confiscated card. All Ms. Flores ever reached was a recorded message.

Ms. Flores was forced to apply for a replacement green card, a bureaucratic process that takes 7 to 8 months. During that time, she was in violation of a federal criminal statute that requires legal permanent residents to carry their green cards at all times.

According to Silverstein, Ms. Flores had been planning to travel to El Salvador to visit her mother, who was very sick. Ms. Flores had to abandon those plans, however, because she feared that without her green card, she would not be able to return to the United States.

"If state employees will be evaluating whether immigration documents are genuine, the government must be sure they are thoroughly trained and operating under carefully-drafted guidelines," Silverstein said. "This is especially important as more and more government services are becoming available only upon proof of immigration status."

"This case demonstrates how easy it is for an untrained state employee to come to the wrong conclusion," Silverstein continued. "Confiscating green cards is an unjustifiable overreaction. Colorado should abandon this unwise, unnecessary, and poorly-drafted policy before more innocent law-abiding immigrants become victims."

The lawsuit, filed in state district court in Denver, alleges that the confiscation violated the Fourth Amendment right to be free of unreasonable seizures as well as the right to due process of law. It seeks compensation for Ms. Flores and a declaration that the confiscation policy is unconstitutional. John Webb of Holme, Roberts & Owen is representing Ms. Flores as an ACLU cooperating attorney.

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