An illegal immigrant filed a lawsuit against Chicago Tuesday, alleging that the city violated his constitutional right to due process by including him on a gang member database.
The Chicago Police Department listed Luis Vicente Pedrote-Salinas, 25, as a member of the Latin Kings gang in 2011. He was neither notified nor given the chance to contest being placed on the list, which he argues infringed on his right to due process. Pedrote applied for a deportation reprieve program in 2014 and claims he was only denied because of his inclusion on the Chicago database, the Associated Press reported Tuesday.
“If CPD had not labeled Mr. Pedrote a gang member and included him in its Gang Database, his application for DACA [Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals] likely would have been granted and he would have received deferred action from deportation,” the lawsuit states. “Mr. Pedrote’s liberty has been deprived based on false evidence used against him that he could not challenge.”
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents raided Pedrote’s home soon after he was added to Chicago’s gang database in 2011, detaining him for six months but never deporting him. Pedrote claims he was never a member of the Latin Kings gang.
“I put my sweat in this city,” he told reporters Tuesday. Pedrote said he held several jobs and worked hard in school, alleging that police targeted him for the database because of his race.
“Individuals are included in the gang database without any notification by CPD and then they are not allowed any opportunity to contest their inclusion in the gang database,” his attorney told the Chicago Tribune. “Chicago cannot truly be a sanctuary city until CPD ends this practice.”
Pedrote was arrested in 2010 for battery and again in 2015 for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, but both charges were dismissed. He previously agreed to a voluntary deportation date set for July 20, but is now seeking a stay on the order for the duration of the lawsuit’s proceedings.
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