Six immigrants who were forced to sign their voluntary deportation are back in the United States to fight their case in a federal court, thanks to an agreement achieved by the ACLU of San Diego. 

The immigrants, who are part of a collective lawsuit, are hoping the court will side with them and allow them to stay in the country. Currently, they only have a permit to be here in order to participate in a hearing in an immigration court. 

The lawsuit filed by ACLU in 2013 on behalf of nine Mexican immigrants, claims that officials from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) used hostile tactics to force them to sign their voluntary return.

As part of an agreement, ICE said they would make changes in the way they process immigrants, and they would inform them about the consequences of signing their voluntary return, besides allowing them to consult a lawyer.

The ACLU has been leading a search for potential class action plaintiffs in Mexico.

To qualify as a class action plaintiff under the voluntary return settlement an individual must:

• Have signed a “voluntary return” form between June 1, 2009 and August 28, 2014 and been expelled to Mexico;

• Have had certain reasonable claims to reside in the U.S. lawfully at the time the “voluntary return” form was signed;

• Have been processed by Border Patrol officers from the San Diego Sector or by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers from the San Diego or Los Angeles field offices; and

• Be physically present in Mexico at the time of submission of application for class membership.

For more information, visit SalidaVoluntariaAcuerdo.com, send an email to avd@aclusandiego.org or call 619-398-4189 within the United States or, from Mexico, call 01-800-681-6917.