Four Individuals Launch Class Action Lawsuit Over Unlawful Immigration Re-Detentions in North Carolina, South Carolina & Georgia

Today, four individuals filed a class action lawsuit challenging the unlawful re-detention of immigrant community members following the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) abrupt and unexplained reversal of longstanding federal immigration policy.

Official response and confirmed impact

As a result, thousands of noncitizens previously released from immigration custody now face the threat of arbitrary re-arrest and indefinite detention despite complying with release conditions and ICE’s prior determination that they posed no danger or flight risk.

Since May 2025, hundreds, if not thousands, of people have been re-detained in the ICE Atlanta Field Office’s area of responsibility alone: North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.

Sosa, Mariona, Ibañez, and Trujillo seek to represent a class harmed by DHS’s “Re-Detention Policy.” Please see a summary of each plaintiff’s experience and their quotes below/here.

Incident under investigation

The American Civil Liberties Unions of North Carolina (ACLU-NC), South Carolina (ACLU-SC), and Georgia (ACLU-GA), and Foley Hoag LLP filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia on behalf of four plaintiffs, all of whom have pending applications for immigration relief:

They are asking the court to declare the policy unlawful, block its continued use, and restore the longstanding “Changed Circumstances Policy.” Plaintiffs also request that the court temporarily halt the re-detention policy while the case proceeds.

The policy reversal is part of the federal government’s broader campaign to expand immigration detention and accelerate mass deportations.