AI Justice Supervising Attorney Catherine Walker is honored to have worked with Jean Paul to secure his release from immigration detention. Born and raised in Haiti, Jean Paul dreamed of becoming a lawyer. After graduating from the École de Droit et des Sciences Economiques des Gonaïves (EDSEG), as he was preparing to apply to law school, armed bandits kidnapped him …
Activists call for Baker County jail to be shut down over alleged mistreatment of immigrant detainees – News4Jax
By Jenese Harris “Civil rights activists, attorneys and supporters of detainees gathered Friday on the footsteps of the federal courthouse in Jacksonville, calling for the Baker County Detention Center to be shut down over the alleged mistreatment of immigrants detained at the jail. Andrea Jacoski, with Americans for Immigrant Justice, represents people detained in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody …
AI Justice and Partners Send Letter to President Biden Re: Closing Immigrant Detention Facilities
Dear President Biden, We, the undersigned groups, believe that the best traditions of our country demand that we protect the rights and dignity of people who come to our nation in pursuit of safety or a better life. We urge you to recognize that our shared values of humanity and compassion require the dismantling of our system of mass immigrant …
Legal organizations sue ICE, say agency prevents communication with Krome detainees – Miami Herald
by Syra Ortiz-Blanes “Legal service groups that represent detained migrants have sued U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, alleging the agency prevents lawyers and their clients in Miami’s Krome Detention Center and three other detention facilities from speaking regularly and confidentially. ‘Defendants have systematically failed to ensure compliance with constitutional requirements, federal law, and ICE’s own policies regarding access to counsel,’ …
U.S. immigration agency blocks lawyer access to detainees, groups say – Reuters
By Daniel Wiessner “Groups that provide legal services to immigrants seeking asylum have filed a lawsuit accusing the U.S. agency that operates detention facilities of violating the U.S. Constitution by making it difficult for lawyers to meet with detainees. The five nonprofit groups, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, claim U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has prevented regular …
Legal Organizations Sue ICE for Illegally Preventing Attorneys from Communicating with Detained Immigrants in Four States
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 13, 2022 Contacts: Devra Gelman, Americans for Immigrant Justice, [email protected] ACLU of Florida Media Office, [email protected], (786) 363-2737 Jocelyn De Carvalho, Milbank, [email protected] MIAMI, FL — Several legal services organizations filed a lawsuit today against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for unlawfully preventing attorneys from communicating with immigrants detained in four detention facilities in Florida, Louisiana, …
ACLU, civil rights groups, allege abuses against immigrant detainees in North Florida jail – Florida Phoenix
by Michael Moline A coalition of civil-rights groups that includes the ACLU of Florida have filed an administrative complaint alleging a pattern of “horrific” mistreatment of immigration detainees being held at the Baker County Detention Center in North Florida. The 22-page complaint, addressed to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and related government departments including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), seeks …
Florida migrant detention center subject of federal complaint – ABC News
By Armando Garcia “A former U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainee in Florida said a group of officers threatened to take him to solitary confinement, then assaulted him, according to a federal complaint filed by several immigration groups. The allegation is part of a 102-page complaint against the Baker County Detention Center in Macclenny by a group of 15 current …
Civil rights groups file complaint alleging ‘inhumane conditions’ at federal wing of Baker County jail – News4Jax
by Tarik Minor “Andrea Jacoski is the director for Americans for Immigrant Justice, whose law firm assisted in coauthoring the federal complaint calling for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to shutter the federal facility. Spoiled and rotten food, a lack of hygiene products and non-drinkable water documented in the complaint are among the injustices immigrant advocates want the public …
Federal complaint claims ‘a living hell’ for immigrants inside ICE’s Baker County Detention Center – Florida Times-Union
by Dan Scanlan “Andrea Jacoski, a director with Americans for Immigrant Justice, said her team saw abuses during site visits and heard more during interviews with clients detained there. ‘We have authored reports and complaint letters throughout the years alerting ICE and the Baker County Sheriff’s Office staff, who oversee the detention center, of the egregious human rights violations occurring …