Advocates are asking a Court to Stop Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from Blocking Detained People from being able to Place Phone Calls to their Legal Representatives and others Outside, a Practice made All the more Inhumane and Cruel Due to In-Person Restrictions following the Covid-19 Pandemic.
“ICE implemented policies that deny or restrict detainees’ ability to make telephone calls at the El Paso Processing Center and the Otero County Processing Center,” American Immigration Council and Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP said. “These policies and practices interfere with individuals’ ability to access counsel, to gather evidence and information, and to prepare for removal proceedings—problems only exacerbated by the current national health crisis brought on by COVID-19.”
Both of the Facilities Listed in the Legal Motion have already been previously Criticized for the Inhumane Treatment of Detainees. Last year a Complaint was lodged against Otero detailing “rampant discrimination and violence” against LGBTQ individuals. Just months later, Transgender Asylum-Seeker Johana Leon would Die after being in Otero’s Custody. Then, a Complaint from just days ago alleged a “pattern and practice of sexual harassment and sexual assault” against Detainees at El Paso.
But Abuses are also manifesting in other ways, Attorneys and Advocates said in the Court Documents. “Before the COVID-19 pandemic, volunteers, interns and staff would conduct legal intake in person at detention centers, including OPC,” Attorney Estrella Cedillo said. “However, to protect the health of our staff and volunteers, our team has worked remotely since March. This includes conducting legal intakes remotely.”
But she said that ICE “did not set up any procedure for facilitating free, confidential legal calls during the pandemic,” and said that ICE Claimed that it couldn’t Assist Detainees with these Calls due to Staffing Issues. “In May, I spoke to ICE Deputy Field Office Director (DFOD) Juan Acosta about our continued difficulty in arranging legal intake calls at Otero,” Cedillo continued. “He told me that he would not force his ICE officers to set up free, confidential legal intake calls.”
This isn’t a Remotely Isolated Incident: in California, ICE earlier this year Blocked Immigrants at one of the most Notorious Detention Facilities in the Nation from also making Calls to Advocates out of supposed “safety concerns,” The San Diego Union-Tribune reported. “It was not immediately clear to what behavior or incidents the statement referred.” That Decision was later Reversed after a good amount of Public Outrage.
The Ability for Detained People to be able to Contact their Attorneys is always Crucial and all the more so amid a Pandemic that has spread like Wildfire inside Immigration Detention Facilities. This Pandemic has made In-Person Meetings risky for Detained People, Attorneys, and Facility Staff alike. But even when Attorneys have shown up with Personal Protective Equipment as Requested by ICE, they’ve reportedly been Denied.
It’s like ICE knows that People with Legal Representation are more likely to be able to Stay in the U.S.
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