LITIGATORS DEMAND JUSTICE IN MANY ARENAS

Newsletter  |  Winter 2013
Vol. 17, Issue No. 1

The AI Justice Litigation Team has been hard at work on matters that seek to promote and protect the civil and constitutional rights of immigrants.  Recently we delivered a letter to Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano detailing concerns arising from documents produced through Freedom of Information Act litigation on post-earthquake deportations to Haiti; joined three friends-of-the-court briefs in the U.S. Supreme Court and state and federal appellate courts on issues concerning family separation and the rights of immigrants in removal proceedings; and filed a complaint with the Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties concerning sexual abuse and assault at the Broward Transitional Center (BTC).  We continue to collaborate with national and local advocacy groups, law school immigration clinics, and pro bono law firms in our ongoing efforts to vindicate the rights of immigrants and halt government abuse.

We continue to hold the government accountable concerning its decision to begin deporting people to Haiti after the horrific earthquake there two years ago.  We will continue to advocate for the safety and well-being of Haitian immigrants in light of the protracted humanitarian crisis still present in that vulnerable nation.

AI Justice also joined with fellow advocacy organizations in a friend-of-the-court brief to the United States Supreme Court.  We argued that the Court should grant a stay application while a petition for review of a deportation order is pending, noting that government practices for ensuring the return of noncitizens who prevail on judicial review are limited, inconsistent, and complex