In November 2019, an immigration judge granted voluntary departure to Alejandro, a thirty-three-year-old Peruvian man with epilepsy and a heart condition. Alejandro was unable to leave the U.S. due to his medical conditions, and AI Justice’s Equal Justice Works Fellow Sawyeh Esmaili filed a Stay of Removal on his behalf in February 2020, followed by a release request in March 2020. In …
AI Justice Secures Release for Domestic Violence Survivor
AI Justice had to reach out to officials in Washington, D.C. to obtain justice for “Elisa”, a survivor of domestic violence who was detained at the Broward Transitional Center (BTC) for a year despite an Asylum Officer’s finding that she had a credible fear of persecution if deported. Her long-term detention exacerbated the trauma she suffered back home at the …
Haitians Released From Wrongful Detention
In 2013, AI Justice secured the release of forty Haitian asylum seekers from detention. They had no criminal history and had relatives in the U.S. (either citizens or legal permanent residents). Despite an ICE policy that allows Haitians without criminal histories to remain here temporarily, these Haitians languished in detention for months if they requested an asylum interview. Detainees across …
Statements Filed for Congressional Detention Standards Hearing
AI Justice filed three Statements to the Congressional Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement for the hearing “Holiday on ICE: The Department of Homeland Security’s New Immigration Detention Standards” in 2013.
Abuses at Broward Detention Center Uncovered
AI Justice’s 2013 report, Broward Transitional Center: A “Model” For Civil Detention, examines systemic abuses of immigrant detainees at this detention center. Though the center has been heralded by the U.S. government as a “model,” AI Justice attorneys documented dehumanizing treatment, substandard medical care, and sexual assault, as well as the lack of due process, legal counsel and meaningful oversight. …
Detention Conditions Exposed in Baker County
In November 2012, as part of a nationwide campaign launch coordinated by Detention Watch Network, advocates released a report, “Expose and Close,” designating Florida’s Baker County Jail as one of the ten worst immigration detention centers in the country and detailing the widespread pattern of abuse there. AI Justice took the lead on the investigation of the Baker County facility. …
Lack of Medical Care for Immigration Detainees Exposed
AI Justice published “Dying for Decent Care: Bad Medicine in Immigration Custody,” in 2009, exposing the systemic abuses and inhumane treatment of detainees nationwide.
AI Justice Testifies to Congress on Prison Rape
Executive Director testified before Congress regarding sexual abuse of immigration detainees and served on the National Prison Rape Elimination Commission’s Immigration Detention Standards Committee in 2006, which drafted recommended standards to prevent and respond to sexual assault in immigration detention facilities.