Two protesters arrested in late July during an ICE-involved patrol in Ambridge are suing the borough and several local officers on claims they were unlawfully detained for exercising their rights.
ICE, immigration and local response
Reporting on the reach and impact of immigration enforcement in Pittsburgh and across Southwestern Pennsylvania.
Separate lawsuits, filed Oct. 8 in federal court, allege Isaac Elias and Katherine Melson were arrested without probable cause and without being read their Miranda rights, subjected to excessive force and denied legal counsel before being arraigned. The lawsuits also claim the arrests, made as Elias and Melson protested police activity, violated their First Amendment rights to free speech and peaceful assembly.
Joe Askar, solicitor for the borough, said he is reviewing the filings and declined to comment.
Aftermath of an ‘intense’ operation
Interviewed over the summer, Ambridge Police Chief John DeLuca referred to the operation as a “saturation patrol,” involving multiple local and federal forces, and “not an ICE detention roundup.” He said the department would work with ICE when asked, though it doesn’t have a formal contractual agreement.
ICE agents, aided by Ambridge police, the Beaver County Sheriff’s office and at least one Pennsylvania State Police officer, arrested individuals across town over the course of several hours the night of July 31. Observers and response volunteers crowded outside the police station.
Elias witnessed 12 arrests targeting suspected immigrants and, according to the complaint, began marching the perimeter of the Ambridge police station holding a homemade sign that read “No Justice, No Peace” and chanting “Shame!”
The Ambridge operation followed protests across the country as immigrant communities and advocates denounced ICE’s increasingly forceful tactics under President Donald Trump. In the Pittsburgh area, immigration-related arrests soared in the first six months of his administration
Observers in Ambridge said the arrests disrupted the Beaver County river town that’s home to a growing Latino community. Some suspected racial profiling, pointing to a traffic stop of a young Latino couple earlier in the night.
Jaime Martinez, community defense organizer at Casa San José, said at the time, “This is the most intense thing we have ever seen.” Martinez leads a network of volunteers trained to respond in real time to ICE sightings, arrests and raids in an effort to document federal agents and deter a reported increase in civil rights violations under the Trump administration.
Melson and Elias told Public Source that their lawsuits help give voice to those arrested by ICE and draw attention to how a national issue is affecting the local community.
“The people who were taken that night aren’t afforded the ability to hold police and elected officials accountable,” Melson said.
Forceful arrests alleged
Elias was arrested around 10:40 p.m. and later charged with disorderly conduct, unreasonable noise and resisting arrest. A magisterial judge dismissed the charges for both Elias and Melson after they completed 25 hours of community service.
Melson and her wife joined observers outside the police department shortly before Elias’ arrest. The complaint states, after arresting Elias, officers directed Melson and others to step back another 10 to 15 feet because officers were taking someone into custody.
Less than a minute later, officers Michael Longo and John Chickos arrested her, according to the filing. She claims no other bystanders around her were arrested, despite also not stepping back after police orders.
While in custody, the filing states, Chickos used repeated force by “throwing her around” and pinching under her arms, leaving bruises. Another unidentified officer kicked her, according to the suit, and she was strip-searched at the Beaver County Jail.
She claims she repeatedly asked for legal counsel, but was not permitted to contact a lawyer. Later, according to the lawsuit, an attorney representing Melson called the police department, and was told by an officer she could not speak with her client. He said Melson’s charges were “not just disorderly,” though he refused to tell her what the charges were, according to the lawsuit.
Melson was ultimately charged with obstruction of administrative law, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and harassment.
Elias’ lawsuit states Ambridge Sgt. Sokheng Seng pulled Elias’ arm outside the normal range of motion, causing an “involuntary jerking” during the arrest. Elias claims he suffered physical injury, pain and emotional distress, according to the lawsuit.
Protecting the right to protest
Especially in a small town, Elias said, people should be able to trust that police will protect them.
“It’s important that somebody helps to keep the law enforcement folks within the law,” he said. “People that do [go to protests] should be able to exercise their rights.”
According to the lawsuit, Elias was also not given a reason for his arrest and was told by jail officials he was not “permitted” to have an attorney present at the arraignment per “jail policy.”
The lawsuit also states that Elias’ sign was confiscated and that he was arrested for the “purpose of chilling his First Amendment rights and in retaliation for his exercise of those rights.”
Christine Elzer, the attorney representing Melson and Elias, said peaceful protest is one of the most “fundamental” rights in the United States and that arrests like theirs are a “threat to free speech everywhere.”
Elias and Melson demanded a jury trial and are seeking compensatory and punitive damages.
Update (10/8/2025): This story was updated after the borough solicitor confirmed the defendants would not comment on the lawsuits.
Ember Duke is an editorial intern at Pittsburgh’s Public Source. She can be reached at ember@publicsource.org
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