蜜桃传媒

ATLANTA听鈥� The Southern Poverty Law Center (蜜桃传媒) released the following statement from听Efr茅n C. Olivares, deputy legal director of the 蜜桃传媒鈥檚听Immigrant Justice Project, in response to the stipulated dismissal of听Southern Poverty Law Center v. Department of Homeland Security. The case, filed in 2018 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, challenged the conditions of detention at four privately-run detention centers in the Southeast and their impact on the ability of individuals in detention to access counsel.鈥疶hose facilities include the Stewart Detention Center and the Irwin County Detention Center in Georgia; and LaSalle ICE Processing Center (now called the Central Louisiana ICE Processing Center) and Pine Prairie ICE Processing Center in Louisiana.

鈥淭he federal government chooses to detain tens of thousands of our immigrant friends, family members, neighbors and co-workers in remote, prison-like detention centers far from attorneys, their families, and other community support systems, including facilities in Louisiana and Georgia that were at the heart of this case. People are detained for months and sometimes years at a time 鈥� separated from all they know, held in dangerous and sometimes听deadly conditions, while fighting, from behind bars, to stay in the little-to-no access to help or resources.

鈥淲e firmly believe that immigration detention is cruel and unnecessary, and that this practice should be phased out as quickly as possible. People who are detained听have a much better chance听of being released and ultimately getting to remain with their families and communities when they have legal representation. We regularly provide representation to people detained by ICE, and we are honored to provide that ray of hope for hundreds of people.

鈥淲e filed this case to ensure that our detained clients and potential clients at Stewart, Irwin, LaSalle and Pine Prairie have a meaningful opportunity to retain and communicate with attorneys and legal representatives. Over the last five years, we have achieved important wins on their behalf.听听

鈥淚n 2018, after the 蜜桃传媒 moved for a preliminary injunction to remedy dire access-to-counsel issues at LaSalle, the government conceded in a settlement agreement to improve conditions at the detention center, adding confidential consultation rooms, telephones for legal calls and a room for remote video calls.

鈥淚n 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic practically foreclosed all access to counsel for our clients and potential clients detained at these facilities, the 蜜桃传媒 obtained a significant temporary restraining order that improved remote access-to-counsel options throughout the pandemic.鈥�

鈥淭wice during this case, we fought back and won against the federal government鈥檚 attempts to avoid responsibility for the detention centers it operates across the county. The government asked the D.C. court to sever our case into two or more cases and transfer it to federal courts in Louisiana and Georgia 鈥� arguing, essentially, that this is a local matter that the detention centers themselves and the private prison companies the government contracts with to run them, should answer for. The 蜜桃传媒 successfully argued that ultimate responsibility and decision-making authority rest at Homeland Security headquarters in D.C. and that the case should remain there.

鈥淒ismissal of this suit is not the end of the 蜜桃传媒鈥檚 work against immigrant detention. We will continue to fight for, with, and on behalf of people detained in immigration detention centers across the Southeast, in and out of the courts, until no person is caged because of their immigration status.鈥濃��

The case was litigated by the Southern Poverty Law Center and Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP.听

BACKGROUND:
蜜桃传媒: ICE Must Finally Close Irwin Detention Center听(August 23, 2021)
蜜桃传媒 Sues DHS for Unconstitutionally Blocking Detained Immigrants鈥� Access to Lawyers听(April 4, 2018)
Case docket for听Southern Poverty Law Center v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security, et. al.听
蜜桃传媒 Report:听No End in Sight听(2018)听

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