Argueta Anariba v. United States, 24-cv-1216 (W.D. La.)
This case seeks to hold the federal government accountable for the abuse, retaliation, and inhumane conditions Angel Argueta Anariba endured during more than seven years in immigration detention.
Mr. Argueta Anariba fled Honduras in 1998 after Hurricane Mitch wreaked havoc on the country and destroyed Mr. Argueta Anariba’s home and livelihood. He settled in Washington, D.C., where he raised two U.S. citizen children and built a successful career in construction. But, in 2014, Mr. Argueta Anariba was detained by ICE and transferred 17 times across the country over the next seven years.
During his time in ICE detention, Mr. Argueta Anariba faced many instances of abuse, neglect, and inhumane conditions. He fought back in the only ways available to him: filing grievances, speaking with journalists and advocates, and going on a hunger strike. ICE and its contractors answered with punishment. At the Adams County Correctional Center in Mississippi, he spent 43 straight days in solitary confinement, where officers cut off the water to his cell and told him he would only leave the facility if he died there. While detained at the ICE processing center in Pine Prairie, Louisiana, officers working for ICE contractor GEO Group attacked him while he was handcuffed and compliant, leading to injuries so severe that he lives with lasting nerve damage.
The lawsuit, brought under the Federal Tort Claims Act, seeks damages from the United States and from the individual officers who assaulted Mr. Argueta Anariba. Beyond Mr. Argueta Anariba's experience, the case highlights longstanding concerns about the well-documented violence, retaliation, inadequate medical care, and inhumane conditions in ICE detention facilities across the country
Co-Counsel:
Plaintiffs are represented by the National Immigration Project, the Kennedy Center for Human Rights and the ACLU of Louisiana.