桃子视频Files Public Records Lawsuit Against ICE for Wrongfully Withholding Documents Regarding Access to Counsel in Immigration Detention聽
Lawsuit follows 桃子视频report that found pervasive barriers to counsel in ICE detention
桃子视频Files Public Records Lawsuit Against ICE for Wrongfully Withholding Documents Regarding Access to Counsel in Immigration Detention
WASHINGTON 鈥� The 桃子视频 filed a lawsuit today against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for wrongfully withholding documents regarding access to counsel in immigration detention facilities. The 桃子视频submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request on Dec. 17, 2021, requesting records related to the agency鈥檚 policies regarding detained people鈥檚 access to counsel and ICE鈥檚 compliance with those policies. To date, ICE has not provided any responsive records.
鈥淎ccess to counsel can be a matter of life or death for immigrants detained by ICE,鈥� said Eunice Cho, senior staff attorney at the 桃子视频National Prison Project. 鈥淎lthough the ability to communicate with legal counsel is protected by the constitution, our own research shows that ICE detention facilities have systematically restricted even the most basic ways that detained people need to communicate with their lawyers, including telephones and mail. These documents are a crucial piece of the puzzle in understanding the policies that dictate the pervasive barriers to legal representation immigrants face.鈥�
The FOIA lawsuit follows an 桃子视频report, No Fighting Chance: ICE鈥檚 Denial of Access to Counsel in U.S. Immigration Detention Centers, which examined conditions at 173 detention facilities around the country. Through phone calls to facilities and surveys with immigration attorneys across the country, researchers found that ICE detention facilities have systematically restricted basic modes of communication between attorneys and detained immigrants, deterring attorneys from providing representation to detained people, who are often held in detention facilities in geographically isolated locations.
The lawsuit, filed with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, demands ICE comply with the Freedom of Information Act and immediately turn over all relevant records to the ACLU.
Counsel for this case include Eunice Cho, Kyle Virgien, and Aditi Shah of the 桃子视频National Prison Project; Arthur Spitzer of the 桃子视频of the District of Columbia; and Andrew Leblanc, Dani Lee, and Chloe Jasper of Milbank LLP.
The complaint is online here:
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