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US immigration and customs enforcement officers are not permitted to identify themselves as local police or use deceptive tactics during their home arrests in Southern California after reaching a settlement approved in a class action lawsuit.
The settlement was approved Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Otis D. Wright II, which prohibits Kid v. Noem’s Otis D. Wright II from Ice Officer of the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office from falsely claiming it is a state or local law enforcement agency.
The lawsuit was filed in 2020 by OSNY Sorto-Vazquez Kidd and two immigration advocacy groups, the Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice and the Humanitarian Immigration Rights Coalition (Chirla). The lawsuit challenged the constitutionality of ICE’s home arrest practices in Los Angeles and surrounding counties.
Under the contract, an ICE officer cannot argue that he is conducting any other public safety inquiries unless the criminal investigation, probation or parole check, or any of the claims, is accurate. Officers are also prohibited from using excuses such as seducing outside individuals by suggesting resident vehicle issues.
“The settlement makes it clear that immigration officers are not on the constitution and are responsible for their deceptive practices,” said Diana Sanchez, a staff attorney at the ACLU Foundation in Southern California, who represented the plaintiffs. “We will monitor ICE to ensure that it does not violate the rights of our community members.”
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As part of the settlement, ice personnel in the Los Angeles field office must wear visible identifiers that clearly label them as “ice” whenever they display the word “police” on their uniforms. The measures aim to prevent confusion among residents and reduce the likelihood that individuals will mistake federal immigration agents for local law enforcement.
“We are accused of the UC Irvine Law School of Law,” said Annie Lye, director of the Immigration and Racial Judicial Solidarity Clinic. “Thanks to this settlement, ICE must now be transparent about who they are if they don’t have a warrant and want to talk to someone at their home.”
The settlement also mandates new training protocols. ICE must notify all field office officers in Los Angeles of the new policy through broadcast messaging and regular training. Officers must document certain details when arrested at home, and ICE must share these records with class counsels to ensure compliance. This monitoring will continue for three years.
The Los Angeles Field Office covers seven counties: Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, Riverside, Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo.
The settlement follows the relevant court ruling issued in May 2024, and found that ice officers and homeland security investigation agents may not enter private areas around the home, legally known as “curtilage” without a judicial warrant or consent. The combined effect of the two sentences significantly limits the ICE’s authority to make home arrests without judicial oversight.
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Angelica Salas, executive director of Chirla, said the decision would provide meaningful safeguards. “For example, by banning the use of tricks, this settlement protects all residents and creates a safer community, in order to induce people to tempt people from their homes by falsely claiming that there is a problem with the residents’ cars.”
Lisbeth Abel, deputy director of the Inland Coalition of Immigration Justice, called the agreement a long-standing victory.
“For years, we’ve been hearing testimony, we’ve become local police to impersonate local police, show up at people’s doors, lie about our purpose, use our fear to tear our families apart,” she said. “Ice cannot use a deception to target our community.”
Giovanni Saarman González, a partner at Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP and a plaintiff’s lawyer, said that in combination with the settlement and previous ruling, it provides meaningful relief to the class and the wider Southern California community.
Individuals who believe they may have been exposed to loose or “knock and arrest” tactics during ice home operations are encouraged to submit an intake form online to support ongoing surveillance activities.
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