Ian Millhiser

So it used to be the case that if a federal law enforcement officer violates your constitutional rights or, you know, commit some other legal violation, you could sue the officer.

And that was an effective deterrent.

You know, officers, if they knew that they personally might not be able to pay their mortgage if they break the law, would be less likely to break the law.

But the Supreme Court has not entirely overruled the case that used to say that you were allowed to sue federal officers under these circumstances was called Bivens.

And the Supreme Court hasn't overruled Bivens explicitly, but they've come pretty damn close.

There was a case maybe five years ago called Hernandez v. Mesa.

The allegations in this case were essentially there were a group of Mexican teenagers who were playing a game by the border where they would run up to the border or like to a wall or something at the edge of the border.

They would touch it and run back, you know, and that was the game that they were playing.

And the allegation is that a Border Patrol officer shot one of these Mexican teenagers in cold blood.

And the Supreme Court said even if the plaintiffs, it was the boy's family, could prove that, yes, this was a murder, that this officer just pulled out his gun and shot this kid in the face, nothing can be done.

The third is a little more promising, but it is much weaker.

So there is a federal law.

It's called the Federal Tort Claims Act.

And I'm going to just read off a list of illegal things that this covers.

OK.

So this law sometimes permits lawsuits against federal law enforcement officers who engage in, and here's the list, assault, battery, false imprisonment, false arrest, malicious prosecution, abusive process, libel, slander, misrepresentation, deceit, and interference with contract rights.

So if a ICE officer has assaulted you, battered you, falsely imprisoned you, falsely arrested you, maliciously prosecuted you, abused process, libeled you, slandered you, misengaged in misrepresentation, deceit or interference with your contract rights, you can potentially sue under the Federal Tort Claims Act the United States government.

Ah, the whole country.

Exactly.

And if you win, then you'll get money.