ACLU files lawsuit against Department of Homeland Security on behalf of DC residents

Source: WTOP Washington, D.C.

September 26, 2025, 6:56 AM


The American Civil Liberties Union of D.C. is suing the Department of Homeland Security, its director and other federal agencies charging that federal agents are illegally and indiscriminately arresting people in D.C. who are perceived to be Latino. The ACLU said in a 36-page lawsuit that the arrests began when President Donald Trump declared a crime emergency in the District on Aug. 11.

The lawsuit charges that for the past month and a half, plain clothes, masked and armed federal agents have been indiscriminately arresting District residents who are perceived to be Latino without probable cause or warrants.

“The crux of our case is to stop the government from making unlawful immigration arrests in D.C.,” Aditi Shah, a staff attorney with the D.C. ACLU, said. “What we are really concerned about is the rise in these mass immigration arrests where the requirements, under the law, in order to make these arrests are not being followed.”

Others named as defendants in the lawsuit include the Department of Justice, Attorney General Pam Bondi, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Border Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the leadership of those agencies.

Read more: https://wtop.com/dc/2025/09/aclu-files-lawsuit-against-department-of-homeland-security-on-behalf-of-dc-residents/