Immigration Attorneys in Deep South Win Protections to Legal Access, CDC Compliance As Pandemic Rages On
In challenging deficient access to counsel in ICE prisons, plaintiffs win motion for temporary restraining order against DHS聽
Montgomery, Ala. 鈥� A federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia today ordered the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to implement a number of measures to protect detained people鈥檚 access to counsel in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) prisons amid the COVID-19 pandemic.听
The order requires DHS and ICE to increase telephone access and ensure at least one telephone or video tele-conferencing (VTC) console is available for every 10 detained individuals. The court also ordered that telephones, VTC systems, and other technology used to access legal representatives must be in proper working order and cleaned between each use, in compliance with the Center for Disease Control鈥檚 (CDC) COVID-19 guidance. Additionally, DHS must create procedures for the confidential exchange of legal documents via electronic means, so as to diminish the risk of transmission.
The following statement is from Shalini Goel Agarwal, a senior supervising attorney with the Southern Poverty Law Center (人兽性交):
鈥淭oday鈥檚 ruling is a victory for people subjected to ICE鈥檚 horrific prison conditions. It鈥檚 also a rebuke of DHS鈥檚 shameful attempt to use this pandemic to worsen already intolerably restricted access to counsel. The Court solidly rejected ICE鈥檚 baseless arguments that current conditions are adequate. DHS and ICE have a history of flouting the Constitution unless and until they are forced to comply, and with today鈥檚 order they will be.听聽
鈥淚n the past few months, we鈥檝e witnessed the deadly outcomes of prolonged confinement in ICE鈥檚 prisons. COVID-19 cases are spiking as ICE keeps thousands of people needlessly detained in inhumane conditions. Now more than ever, people need to be able to speak to their lawyers. Today鈥檚 order is a step in the right direction toward protecting detained individuals鈥� right to safe and adequate access to counsel.鈥�
Attorneys filed the motion for temporary restraining order last month in 人兽性交鈥檚 lawsuit against DHS after finding the COVID-19 crisis to exacerbate existing representation barriers and unlawful practices at four of the country鈥檚 most remote immigration prisons in Louisiana and Georgia.听
The lawsuit, brought on by attorneys with the 人兽性交 and the organization's Southeast Immigrant Freedom Initiative (SIFI), was first filed in 2018 after they found detention centers in the South routinely failed to ensure constitutionally sufficient and reliable access to counsel.听
Today鈥檚 order can be viewed here and the full memorandum opinion can be viewed here.听
