BOSTON (WHDH) - Several local groups have filed a public records lawsuit against the Boston Police Department after accusing them of turning teenage behavior into gang membership.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, the Children’s Law Center of Mass. and other groups launched the suit against the department this week after saying they profile and mislabel young immigrants as gang members, resulting in deportations.
The ACLU alleges that a Salvadoran teenager who fled gang violence in his home country was labeled a gang member after falling victim to an assault at school.
They also claim that Boston police assign people points based on who they are, who they know, and what they wear, and enter this information into the Boston Regional Intelligence Center’s Gang Assessment Database, which is then shared with other law enforcement agencies.
“Despite the fact that Boston has proclaimed itself a safe city for immigrants, the Boston Police Department is collaborating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement by making information in its ‘gang database’ available to federal immigration authorities,” according to the ACLU.
They went on to add that “Boston aims to protect its immigrants. Every day in immigration court, we see how the gang database system undermines that promise for teenagers across the city.”
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