Pasadena Worker’s Detention Leads to Federal Court Order on Immigrant Detainee Rights

A Pasadena day laborer who says he was held for weeks without access to an attorney is among the plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit that prompted a federal judge’s order requiring U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to allow immigrant detainees in downtown Los Angeles to meet with lawyers.

U.S. District Judge Maame E. Frimpong on Thursday converted a temporary restraining order into a preliminary injunction, mandating that detainees confined in the basement facility known as B-18 inside the Los Angeles federal building be given timely access to counsel, court papers show.

The ruling followed reports that detainees were denied phone calls, turned away from in-person meetings, and pressured to sign legal documents without legal advice.

Pedro Vasquez Perdomo, 54, of Pasadena, is the lead plaintiff in the case. He said he was arrested June 18 while waiting for a construction job at a Metro bus stop in front of a Winchell’s Donuts in Pasadena. Perdomo testified that masked men with guns surrounded him and two others, took them into custody, and held him at B-18 for three weeks, much of that time without access to attorneys. He has since been granted bond and released.

Attorney Mark Rosenbaum, representing detainees, said the ruling “affirmed that the Constitution does not stop at the doors of a detention center.” He added, “The judge made clear that the government cannot lock people up and cut them off from their lawyers. This ruling protects one of the most basic promises of this country — that every person is entitled to due process — no matter the language they speak, the color of their skin or where they come from. No one in B-18 should be left to face the power of the government alone. This case is not over, and neither is our fight to make sure this country lives up to its Constitution.”

Evidence signals B-18 was designed only for short-term processing before release or transfer, with no beds, showers or medical facilities, and limited space. Plaintiffs argue ICE transformed it into a de facto long-term detention site during immigration raids and mass arrests over the summer, cutting detainees off from the outside world.

At an October hearing, government attorney Jonathan Ross countered that detainees were not intentionally denied counsel, saying unrest on the streets during immigration operations created abnormal conditions. He argued that “the court should not be ordering the government to do what it is already doing,” adding, “the record shows plaintiffs are receiving what’s required.”

Ross said conditions have since “normalized” and detainees now have access to attorneys.

Frimpong responded from the bench that violations continued even after her July temporary restraining order, making further judicial oversight necessary.

The case is part of a broader lawsuit filed in July in Los Angeles federal court, in which Southern California residents, workers and advocacy groups accused the Department of Homeland Security of “abducting and disappearing” community members through unlawful stops and warrantless arrests, then confining them at B-18 under illegal conditions.

Also in July, Frimpong issued an order barring federal agents from conducting “roving patrols” that targeted people for deportation based on race or language. The U.S. Supreme Court later lifted those restrictions.

For Pasadena residents like Perdomo, the ruling underscores how federal immigration enforcement reaches into local neighborhoods. His account of being taken from a bus stop in front of a familiar donut shop highlights the community-level impact of national detention policies.