Octavio, his U.S. citizen wife, and his family were robbed and assaulted at gunpoint. He cooperated with the police and later testified against his attackers at trial, resulting in their convictions. Unfortunately, when Octavio was headed to the hospital to seek treatment for his family, he was stopped and arrested for driving without a license. He was then transferred to …
ICE asks federal judge to undo court order that mandates masks and soap, limits transfers
By Monique O. Madan, The Miami Hearald U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has asked a federal judge to undo an order she issued last month requiring the agency to give soap, cleaning supplies and masks to detainees at three South Florida detention centers. The June 6 mandate — which also strictly limits ICE transfers to other facilities and bars COVID-19-positive …
ICE unlawfully jails unaccompanied migrant children once they turn 18, judge rules
By Spencer S. Hsu, The Washington Post A federal judge ruled Thursday that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has unlawfully transferred thousands of unaccompanied children who turned 18 to adult detention facilities without considering alternatives, in violation of a 2013 law. U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras of Washington, D.C., said he will order changes “in the near future” after a …
ICE keeps transferring detainees around the country, leading to COVID-19 outbreaks
By Lisa Riordan Seville and Hannah Rappleye, NBC News The immigrants began to show symptoms in late April, about a week after arriving at the Rolling Plains Detention Center in Haskell, Texas. They had been held in dorms with other recent transfers, according to a county official. First three detainees tested positive for COVID-19. Then 20 more. As of Friday, …
Peruvian man with pre-existing conditions released from ICE custody during COVID-19 pandemic
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 …
Luis
Luis, 32, was born in the Dominican Republic, but lived in the United States as a permanent resident for nearly three decades. Growing up, he had an abusive stepfather, and he had trouble with the law. After a second suicide attempt at age 23, he was finally diagnosed with schizophrenia. Afterward, he made remarkable progress through holistic counseling, psychiatric care, …
ICE tells federal judge the court has no authority over its detention practices
By Monique O. Madan, The Miami Herald U.S. immigration officials have told a Miami federal judge that the court has no authority over how the government chooses to detain and release immigration detainees, and that filing twice-weekly accountability reports to the court would be “unduly burdensome.” Over the weekend, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement filed a response objecting to a …
Marlene
Marlene was detained by ICE for 11 months and was deported even after AI Justice took her case to the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. She spent three long years in Trinidad separated from her family. Ultimately AI Justice won her case in 2005, fought to get her back to the United States, and then successfully challenged an appeal …
Americans for Immigrant Justice Calls for the Immediate Release of All Detained Immigrants from Broward Transitional Center
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 26, 2020 Contact: Ariela Moscowitz [email protected] / 305-573-1106 x 1100 MIAMI – Over 700 immigrants currently detained at Broward Transitional Center (BTC) have lifted their voices to bring attention to the dire state of hygiene and health care in the detention center. Americans for Immigrant Justice (AI Justice) joins the detained immigrants in their calls for justice, and urges Immigration and Customs Enforcement …
COVID-19 Prompts Some Immigration Facility Closures – But Fewer In South Florida
By TIM PADGETT • MAR 18, 2020 To help stop transmission of the coronavirus, many federal immigration facilities have closed as of Tuesday night. But many are staying open in South Florida. In recent days, immigrant advocates and immigration workers have lobbied or even sued the federal government to close immigration facilities temporarily to keep people safe from the new coronavirus, or COVID-19. …