"During the master calendar hearing, ICE Assistant Chief
Counsel Jonathan Love (“Love”) stated that Lanuza’s
immigration file contained an I-826 form, signed by Lanuza,
accepting voluntary departure to Mexico in 2000." That would make Lanuza ineligible for relief from deportation.
Which works. Except for one thing. The document was a forgery. (Among other things, the top of the purported 2000 document referred to the "U.S. Department of Homeland Security," which didn't even exist until after the terrorist attacks on 9/11/2001.) Even worse, apparently, Mr. Love knew it was a forgery.
I can't fathom what would make an attorney for ICE deliberately submit a forged document (or forge it himself) with the intent to deport someone. Neither did the judge who ultimately sentenced Mr. Love to (a very brief stay in) prison. Why would anyone fake a document just to get someone they don't even know deported?
Regardless, the Ninth Circuit holds today that there's a Bivens remedy for this situation. If you forge a document in a deliberate effort to get someone deported, the person gets to sue you.
