The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota (ACLU-MN) has filed a lawsuit against the Carver County Sheriff’s Office on behalf of a suspected illegal alien who was bailed out by the Minnesota Freedom Fund but was instead turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) by the jail before he could be freed.
The civil lawsuit filed in Carver County District Court last week names the county, Sheriff Jason Kamerud, Sgt. Colleen Freiberg, and an unnamed jail staff member referred to as J. Doe and claims that detainee Maikol Javier Suarez Varela, 21, was falsely detained and denied his civil rights and liberty.
Suarez Varela had been arrested in January along with two others after allegedly attempting to break into a bank ATM in Chanhassen. Activity related to the break-in was captured on surveillance video, and the suspects were apprehended in a matching vehicle in a nearby parking lot. A key was found inside the vehicle that was suspected to have been used to break into the ATM. Numerous tools and electrical testers were also found inside the vehicle and its trunk.
Suarez Varela was charged with felony counts of aiding and abetting attempted theft and possession of burglary tools, as were the other two arrested parties. Bail was set for Suarez Varela by a Carver County judge at $50,000 bond or $10,000 cash.
The ACLU-MN lawsuit reiterates that Suarez Varela was arrested and jailed in Carver County on Jan. 5, 2025, and states that Sheriff Kamerud informed ICE of the arrest. ICE subsequently sent the jail a “detainer” requesting that it notify ICE before Suarez Varela was released from custody and requested that the jail maintain custody of Suarez Varela for up to 48 hours after he would otherwise be released so that ICE could assume custody of him.
The ACLU-MN also claims that Suarez Varela, of Venezuela, entered the country legally by using the “CBP1” (CBP One) system. However, just this week, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem stated in a press release that “the Biden Administration exploited the CBP One app to allow more than 1 million aliens to illegally enter the United States.” The statement was connected to the relaunch of the app under the new name of CBP Home, where illegal aliens can submit their intent to self-deport from the United States prior to being captured by ICE and barred from ever retuning to the U.S.
The lawsuit details that the Minnesota Freedom Fund (MFF) was contacted by Suarez Varela’s family to provide bail, which they could not afford. When MFF showed up at the jail on Feb. 6 and on Feb. 13 to post the $10,000 cash bail, the lawsuit alleges that Sgt. Freiberg and Sgt. J. Doe told MFF on the respective dates that they could post bail, but Suarez Varela would be held for ICE. The lawsuit claims the bail was posted by MFF on Feb. 13.
A statement from ICE regarding the situation was quoted by WCCO in their report on the lawsuit, in which ICE stated that it arrived at the jail on the same day bail was posted and took custody of Suarez Varela:
“U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested Maikol Javier Suarez Verela Feb. 13 upon his release from the Carver County Jail, Chaska, Minnesota. Suarez Verela was paroled into the United States Dec. 4 through the Paso del Norte Port of Entry [in El Paso, Texas]. He was arrested by the Carver County Sheriff’s Office for second degree burglary Jan. 5 when he, along with accomplices, allegedly attempted to break into an ATM in Chanhassen, Minnesota. ICE placed a detainer with the jail the same day. He will remain in ICE custody pending the outcome of his removal proceedings.”
ACLU-MN staff attorney Ian Bratlie said in a press release about the lawsuit that “Minnesota law is clear that sheriffs do not have authority to make arrests for civil immigration matters. Carver County cannot be allowed to violate our laws and Federal Constitution simply to attack minority groups. We are better than that.”
The lawsuit claims that all sheriffs in the state have been warned by the ACLU that jails cannot legally comply with ICE detainers, and that doing so is acting “outside their clearly defined statutory authority and the bounds of the Minnesota Constitution.”
The lawsuit seeks a judgment against the jail declaring that it exceeded its authority and also requests a jury trial to determine potential monetary compensation “well in excess of $50,000” to Suarez Verela for legal fees and based on his “false imprisonment and violation of the Human Rights Act.”
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Minnesota Crime Watch & Information publishes news, info and commentary about crime, public safety and livability issues in Minneapolis, the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota.
Crime Watch MN
Minnesota Crime Watch & Information publishes news, info and commentary about crime, public safety and livability issues in Minneapolis, the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota.
