An Allentown man who was imprisoned after authorities falsely identified him as an illegal immigrant received $25,000 in a legal settlement against the federal government.



Ernesto Galarza, 37, still has a lawsuit pending against the Allentown detective he claims is responsible for keeping him in prison for three days in November 2008.



The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, which represented Galarza, said this case is just one of many instances of legal American citizens being locked up under false pretenses.



"Local police departments need to be wary of enforcing immigration law because if they get it wrong, they're going to get sued," said Witold Walczak, legal director of the ACLU of Pennsylvania.



"If they make a mistake, if they mistakenly detain somebody who is here lawfully or, in this case, is a citizen, they are likely to get sued for damages," Walczak said.



Andrew Adair, the attorney representing the city and Allentown Detective Christie Correa, the defendant in Galarza's lawsuit, said he could not comment because the settlement did not involve his client.



"At this point in time, the case is still proceeding against Detective Correa," Adair said.



Messages placed earlier this week to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the U.S. Department of Justice were not returned.



Galarza was working at an Allentown construction site at Sixth and Monroe streets when he was arrested by undercover police officers in November 2008, according to records.



Galarza and three other men were arrested after Correa bought cocaine from Galarza's co-worker during an undercover operation, according to the 30-page lawsuit Galarza filed in November 2010.



Although Galarza presented paperwork proving his citizenship and posted bail on a conspiracy to distribute cocaine charge, he was kept incarcerated after Correa said she believed his papers were fake and that he was an illegal immigrant, according to the suit.



U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement forbade his release for three days, until federal agents interviewed them and he again presented information proving he was a citizen, according to court records.



"We don't ordinarily allow police officers to detain people on a hunch," Walczak said. "Just because you may suspect someone is an undocumented immigrant doesn't change the rules."



Galarza, a Hispanic man of Puerto Rican heritage, was born in New Jersey and has been a United States citizen all his life. He was later acquitted of the conspiracy charge against him.



In his lawsuit, Galarza claims Correa violated his constitutional right to equal protection under the law and against unreasonable search and seizure, records say. Those claims are still pending.



Other claims against Allentown were dismissed by a federal judge in March, including one that challenged the constitutionality of the city's process in reporting undocumented immigrants to the government.





Contact Allentown reporter Colin McEvoy at 484-894-2549 or cmcevoy@express-times.com.