Amicus Brief Argues that Exclusionary Rule in Criminal Proceedings Should Apply to Evidence Related to Identity in Prosecutions for Illegal Reentry

This amicus brief argues that the exclusionary rule in criminal proceedings should apply to evidence related to identity, because it is an essential deterrent to ICE’s widespread racially discriminatory enforcement practices. Identity evidence is generally the key evidence necessary to prosecute a person for illegal reentry under 8 U.S.C. 1326. The brief further argues that such deterrence is especially important given the limits of the exclusionary rule in civil removal proceedings.

The amicus brief supports a petition for rehearing en banc of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals’ affirmance of the denial of a noncitizen’s motion to suppress evidence in a prosecution for illegal reentry.

The American Immigration Council filed this amicus brief in United States v. Mitra-Hernandez with the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild.