Woman at center of landmark immigration case settles suit that changed jail holds in state, nation

The woman at the center of a lawsuit that changed the way jails across Oregon handle people suspected of immigration violations has settled a lawsuit against Clackamas County.

Maria Miranda-Olivares sued the county in U.S. District Court claiming she was unlawfully imprisoned at the county jail in 2012...

The settlement, reached last week, marks the final chapter of a case that changed immigration hold policies in Oregon and nationwide.

Miranda-Olivares was arrested on March 15, 2012, on an allegation that she violated a restraining order that her husband had taken out against her. The next day, a judge set bail at $5,000...

Miranda-Olivares was there for two weeks...

But U.S. Magistrate Judge Janice M. Stewart ruled in April 2014 that Miranda-Olivares' detention was illegal and violated her constitutional rights...

The ruling had a ripple effect. Jails throughout the state immediately stopped complying with ICE's Secure Communities detainers.

"This was a landmark case," said Miranda-Olivares' attorney, Benjamin Haile of the Portland Law Collective.

"ICE policy has pretty much changed across the board" on its use of immigration detainers, Haile said Monday.

President Obama announced last November that he was ending the Secure Communities program...

In her statement, Miranda Olivares said the county "forced me to endure two weeks of degrading, humiliating treatment."

Her immigration case is still pending.