Groups plan Frederick County immigration lawsuit

FREDERICK, Md. (AP) - The civil-rights group LatinoJustice PRLDEF says it plans a federal lawsuit alleging immigration enforcement violations by the Frederick County Sheriff's Department.

The New York-based group said Monday it will file the $1 million lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt Tuesday, joined by state organization Casa de Maryland.

Attorney Jose Perez contends that two Frederick County deputies interrogated a Salvadoran immigrant about her immigration status while she was eating lunch, and then took her into custody and transferred her to federal immigration authorities.

Perez says the arrest violated an agreement that only allows local police to question the immigration status of people they have arrested for other offenses.

Sheriff Chuck Jenkins says LatinoJustice left out some of the facts surrounding the arrest.

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