A federal district judge has ordered Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers to temporarily halt three policies deemed "likely illegal" concerning the detention of construction workers, following a lawsuit filed by a Baldwin County resident. The ruling, issued Monday by Jeffrey Beaverstock, chief United States District Judge for the Southern District of Alabama, applies to warrantless entry, preemptive detainment, and continued detainment policies used by ICE on construction sites. Judge Beaverstock stated in the 24-page order that these policies could violate the Constitution.
The judge wrote that staying the policies is a "less drastic remedy sufficient to redress Plaintiff’s alleged injury." The order specifically targets policies allowing immigration officers to enter private construction sites without warrants, detain workers preventatively, and continue detaining individuals even after they present evidence of citizenship or lawful presence. Judge Beaverstock indicated that the continued detainment policy is "likely to run afoul of the Fourth Amendment" because identification like a STAR ID is issued only to citizens or those lawfully present. He noted that a STAR ID, which the plaintiff presented, includes a star in the corner indicating compliance with the federal REAL ID Act, which suffices to establish lawful presence. To obtain a STAR ID, individuals must provide multiple forms of identification, including a passport or other government-issued document showing identity and date of birth, a Social Security number, and proof of address.
This order comes after Leonardo Garcia Venegas, an American citizen and construction worker from Baldwin County, filed a lawsuit last year. Venegas alleged he was detained twice by ICE officers because of his appearance while working on private construction sites. According to the lawsuit, Venegas, who was born in Florida and has resided in Alabama since he was 14, experienced detentions on May 21 and June 12. During both incidents, he presented his STAR ID to ICE officers, who reportedly told him the identification could be fake.
Jared McClain, Venegas’s attorney, described the temporary halt as "a huge blow to DHS’s lawless enforcement practices" in a press release issued Monday. McClain asserted that the government argued in court that warrants were not needed to enter private construction sites or to round up workers, and that government-issued IDs could not be trusted. He added that by setting aside "unconstitutional policies," the court has restored the rule of law, allowing construction workers like Venegas to "finally go to work in peace again." Messages seeking comment from McClain and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security were left Tuesday.
Victoria Todd, an attorney for the defendants, claimed in a court filing that during the May 21 incident, Venegas attempted to interfere with an arrest, posing a safety risk. The response stated that Venegas moved around a Homeland Securities Investigator (HSI) special agent and quickened his pace, circling an Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) deportation officer despite being instructed to stop. Todd’s filing indicated the HSI special agent was concerned for safety due to concrete with exposed rebar and sharp objects in the area, and Venegas's refusal to comply with commands.
Judge Beaverstock addressed the government's safety argument in his order, stating that it was "unsupported by the record." He pointed out that multiple individuals on the job site who did not appear to be Hispanic were not detained during the May 21 raid, which undermined the claim that officer safety was a factor.
While this ruling specifically addresses policies in Baldwin County, data from the Deportation Data Center, a project by the University of California, Berkeley and University of California, Los Angeles, indicates that over 10,000 Alabamians have been arrested and detained by ICE as of January 2025. The center’s data showed June 2026 had the highest number of arrests with detentions for Alabamians, with 934 individuals.