Flavio was getting ready with his boss one morning in August when officers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrived and arrested him and two of his co-workers.

At first, they were taken in handcuffs to an area near the Pentagon, and then to a private home. Eventually, he said, he was transported to an immigration detention center.

The immigrants’ rights organizations behind the class action lawsuit accusing the federal government of engaging in a pattern of illegal arrests in Washington, D.C. since the law enforcement surge started in August, held a virtual press conference on Friday.

Flavio, an alias used for security reasons, spoke through a translator via Zoom from El Salvador. He said he came to the U.S. in 2023.

“I came looking for an opportunity to work and contribute

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