BOZEMAN — Officials in Montana have asked a judge to toss out an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit against them.
The Bozeman Daily Chronicle reports the ACLU of Montana and the ACLU Immigrant’s Rights Project in February filed the lawsuit against Gallatin County Sheriff Brian Gootkin and jail Cmdr. Jason Jarrett, claiming the jail holds inmates illegally at the request of U.S. immigration officials.
Gallatin County attorney Marty Lambert filed a response to the lawsuit Thursday and wrote that Jarrett and Gootkin are acting within state law when complying with requests from Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.
The plaintiff, Luis Soto-Lopez, was arrested in November.
The lawsuit seeks to end ICE detainers for all current and future people incarcerated at the jail who are being held for federal immigration authorities. It also seeks compensation for Soto-Lopez’s unlawful imprisonment.