By Armando Hernandez
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) demanded the immediate release of Isaac Villegas, an immigrant detained for the second time by immigration authorities after joining a class action lawsuit against the Government of Donald Trump, in a case that has raised alarms about possible official retaliation.
The ACLU called the arrest a possible “retaliation”since Villegas is part of a lawsuit against the massive raids carried out in Los Angeles in 2025. “It appears to constitute retaliation for speaking out against” the government, Chandra Bhatnagar, executive director of the Southern California organization, said in a statement.
Villegas, an immigrant from Panama and a day laborer, was detained again last week during a routine appointment with ICE.even though an immigration judge had granted him bail the previous year while he faced deportation proceedings.
His first detention occurred on June 18, 2025, when he was waiting at a bus stop in Los Angeles, as part of immigration operations that resulted in hundreds of arrests. According to the class action lawsuit, backed by the ACLU and other organizations, these raids would have used “racial profiling,” targeting people for “speaking Spanish or performing certain jobs.”
Experts cited by The Washington Submit have warned that Immigration detentions after participation in legal lawsuits can generate an “inhibiting effect” on the exercise of civil rights, particularly in vulnerable communities.
Along the same lines, analyzes by Human Rights Stare highlight that restrictive immigration policies in the US have led to concerns about abuses of power and lack of due process.
The ACLU maintains that Villegas’ new arrest violates not only the previous court order, but also fundamental rights protected by the US Constitution.. “Retaliation is a hallmark of authoritarian regimes, and we will not tolerate it… We demand that DHS release Isaac immediately,” Bhatnagar said.
The case has also put the practices of the immigration system under scrutiny. Data from the Transactional Info Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) show that the number of detentions by ICE has increased in recent years, in parallel with a tightening of immigration policies.
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