Wrongfully deported, she’s back but not allowed to sue

A woman detained and deported to Mexico in 2013 despite being in the United States legally cannot pursue a wrongful arrest and false imprisonment lawsuit against the government, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans upheld a Texas-based federal judge’s dismissal of the lawsuit by Guadalupe Chaidez Campos.

Chaidez Campos had entered the country illegally in 2012 and was ordered out, according to court records. She pleaded guilty to entering the country illegally and was sentenced to 11 months in prison. While in prison, according to the ruling, she applied for and received a type of legal “nonimmigrant” status granted to some crime victims.

However, when she reported to a probation office in November 2013 with her 1-year-old child and the child’s father, she was detained, despite showing proof of her legal status. She was taken back into Mexico that same day, not returning until the following January.

Tuesday’s ruling said the government enjoys sovereign immunity from the type of lawsuit Chaidez Campos filed. It said agents were not so unreasonable as to overcome that immunity. The three-judge panel said the agents, who knew of her earlier deportation order, acted within their discretion.

“At worst, what occurred were failures to understand the import of various immigration documents and regulations,” Judge Leslie Southwick wrote for the panel.

Attorneys for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund had argued on behalf of the woman at the 5th Circuit. Representatives of the group did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment Tuesday evening.