The Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund in New York has filed a federal lawsuit charging that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers unlawfully raided immigrants' homes without warrants or other legal justification. The suit asks for a court order prohibiting ICE's New York Regional Office from conducting home raids until the agency develops clear guidelines to end unlawful entries.

"The complaint describes how ICE agents entered these homes without judicially ordered warrants or consent, conducted unlawful searches, illegally detained family members and, in some cases, physically abused the victims," said Cesar Perales, PRLDEF President and General Counsel in a press release. "No family in this country should be forced to endure such treatment."

Among the lead plaintiffs in the class action suit are a family of U.S. citizens and one permanent resident who were detained and questioned earlier this year in a predawn raid during which officers said they were seeking a man who had not lived in the home since 2003.

According to The New York Times:

 After detaining and questioning the frightened family members, including Ms. Aguilar’s 12-year-old daughter and 4-year-old son, the complaint said, the agents threatened to return.