Ten New Haven residents have filed a lawsuit claiming an immigration raid was conducted in retaliation for a city program that gave ID cards to people in the U.S. illegally.
The suit says the resident's rights were violated by the June 2007 raid, that came two days after the city started issuing identification cards to all city residents, regardless of their immigration status.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials deny the raids were retaliatory, saying they were planned the year before.
The lawsuit filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court cites e-mails between federal officials that the residents say shows opposition to the ID card program and efforts to stop it.
The U.S. Attorney's office declined to comment.
