FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 29, 2025
Contact: American for Immigrant Justice, [email protected]
MIAMI, FL (May 29, 2025) — Today, civil rights organizations called on the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to remedy pervasive due process violations plaguing the Federal Detention Center-Miami (FDC-Miami). Americans for Immigrant Justice, the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Florida, Florida Legal Services, and the University of Miami Immigration Clinic sent BOP and ICE a letter detailing due process violations affecting immigrants who, in the wake of a February 2025 agreement between ICE and the BOP, are now being held in immigration detention at FDC-Miami, a federal prison. The letter urges ICE and BOP to ensure that individuals in immigration detention under BOP custody at FDC-Miami are provided access to legal documents, legal mail, and counsel—all of which ICE and BOP currently deny.
Attorneys from these organizations have documented troubling systemic failures that prevent detained immigrants from accessing crucial legal resources and communicating with attorneys. These obstacles make it difficult for individuals to understand the charges against them, secure legal counsel, and prepare their immigration cases—violations of ICE and BOP policies, the Administrative Procedure Act, and the U.S. Constitution. Due process is a constitutional right guaranteed to both citizens and non-citizens alike, which BOP and ICE must honor.
Additionally, the letter—sent alongside a similar letter from Kansas-based civil right organizations—highlights a nationwide pattern of problematic and unlawful conditions for immigrants held in federal detention centers. Federal prisons are no place for immigrants to be held in civil detention. Rather than expanding agreements in an effort to detain an ever-increasing number of immigrants—separating family members and needlessly taking valued neighbors, workers and caregivers from their communities—the government should focus on upholding the values and constitutional promises that Americans hold dear. For the BOP and ICE, that means complying with their own standards and legal obligations and upholding vital due process rights.
“In just a few short months, FDC-Miami has proven to be a black hole, where immigrants in civil immigration custody are denied even the most basic due process rights with impunity,” said Americans for Immigrant Justice Senior Litigation Attorney Evelyn Wiese. “This failure to honor core constitutional promises should concern all Americans.”
Andrea Jacoski, Associate Director of the University of Miami Immigration Clinic said, “Law student access to FDC-Miami is essential for the Immigration Clinic to continue to advocate for individuals detained by ICE in South Florida. Limiting the scope of those who can visit people at the facility exclusively to attorneys prevents the Clinic from representing members of our community.”
“Denying detained immigrants access to legal documents, mail and phone calls makes it all but impossible to fight and win an immigration case.” said Americans for Immigrant Justice Executive Director Sui Chung. “The systemic denial of due process at FDC-Miami has impacted immigrants who desperately seek refuge and are legally entitled to pursue relief in the United States. Americans for Immigrant Justice is committed to ensuring that immigrants detained at FDC-Miami receive the protections they are due under U.S. law and the U.S. Constitution.”
“The Trump administration’s use of federal prisons to detain immigrants must end. Holding people in extended lockdown, and denying them access to adequate medical care and legal counsel isn’t just inhumane – it’s illegal,” said Eunice Cho, senior staff attorney at the ACLU’s National Prison Project. “The taxpayer-funded conditions faced by immigrants held at FDC-Miami should concern us all.”
# # #
About Americans for Immigrant Justice
Americans for Immigrant Justice (AI Justice) is an award-winning non-profit law firm that fights for justice for immigrants through a combination of direct representation, impact litigation, advocacy and outreach. Follow on Twitter and Instagram. Visit www.aijustice.org.
About the American Civil Liberties Union
For more than 100 years, the ACLU has worked in courts, legislatures, and communities to protect the constitutional rights of all people. With a nationwide network of offices and millions of members and supporters, the ACLU takes on the toughest civil liberties fights in pursuit of liberty and justice for all. For more information, visit our website at www.aclu.org.
About Florida Legal Services
Florida Legal Services is a statewide leader in advancing economic, social, and racial justice. We advocate for poor, vulnerable, and hard to reach people through impact litigation, legislative and administrative advocacy, education, and strategic partnerships. For more information, visit our website at https://www.floridalegal.org.
About the ACLU of Florida
The ACLU of Florida, the state affiliate of the national ACLU, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to defending the civil liberties and rights guaranteed by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Through litigation, legislation, and public education, the ACLU of Florida strives to ensure that the rights and freedoms of all Floridians are protected. For more information, visit https://www.aclufl.org.