Associated Press
SEATTLE — A federal judge has dismissed all but one of an immigrant teen’s claims against the City of Bellingham arising from a traffic stop that landed him in immigration detention last year.
The boy was 15 when he was pulled over for driving his dad’s car the wrong way down a one-way street in Bellingham. The officer questioned him about his criminal history and whether he was in the country legally, then turned him over to the Border Patrol, which brought him to the Federal Detention Center in SeaTac the next day.
Immigration officials released him to his parents later that day when they learned he was only 15. Though undocumented, he had applied for legal status through the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy.
U.S. District Judge John Coughenour said the arrest did not violate the teen’s federal constitutional rights. But the judge said one claim could go forward: that by questioning the teen about his immigration status and criminal history — instead of just calling his parents — the officer violated state anti-discrimination law.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
