Home : Immigrants' Rights : Detention

Landmark Settlement Announced in Federal Lawsuit Challenging Conditions at Immigrant Detention Center in Texas (08/27/2007)
AUSTIN, TX -- The American Civil Liberties Union today announced a landmark settlement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that greatly improves conditions for immigrant children and their families inside the T. Don Hutto detention center in Taylor, Texas. Dozens of children were released from the facility with their families as a result of the litigation. The settlement is expected to be approved shortly by Judge Sam Sparks of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas.

Government Apologizes for Unlawful Arrest and Detention of Iraqi Refugee (08/23/2007)
SEATTLE -- The American Civil Liberties Union today announced that the United States government has apologized to Abdulameer Yousef Habeeb, an Iraqi refugee whom federal agents unlawfully stopped, interrogated, arrested, imprisoned, and sought to deport. At the request of federal officials and the ACLU, a federal district court judge in Montana vacated a 2006 ruling upholding Habeeb's arrest and detention. The government also provided Habeeb compensation for its mistreatment of him.

ACLU of Rhode Island Seeks Review of Police Department Medical Policies Following Death of Immigrant (08/09/2007)
WOONSOCKET, RI - In response to the death on Tuesday of Edmar Alves Araujo, a Brazilian national who had epilepsy, while in the custody of immigration officials, the American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island today filed an open records request with the Woonsocket Police Department to obtain copies of its policies addressing how the medical needs of individuals in police custody are handled. The ACLU has also called on the Attorney General to conduct an immediate inventory of other municipal police department policies across the state regarding the provision of medication to detainees who may have emergency medical needs.

Se Sostiene Mandato Judicial: Juez Encuentra Extensos Maltratos y Abusos En Los Centros de Detención de Inmigración (07/31/2007)
LOS ÁNGELES - En una evaluación nacional sobre los derechos legales de los inmigrantes en centros de detención, una juez federal halló graves violaciones de los estándares decretados por el propio gobierno.

Judge Finds Widespread Abuses in Immigration Detention (07/31/2007)
LOS ANGELES - In a nationwide review of legal rights for immigrants in federal detention, a federal judge has found serious violations of the government's own standards relating to detention conditions.

ACLU Calls on Immigration Officials to Release Information About Immigrant Detention Deaths (06/27/2007)
WASHINGTON -- The American Civil Liberties Union filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request today to obtain information about the nature of 62 deaths of people in immigration detention since 2004. According to a New York Times article published yesterday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reported 62 detainee deaths since 2004, but ICE refused to provide any details about the nature or causes of the deaths. 

ACLU Sues U.S. Immigration Officials and For-Profit Corrections Corporation Over Grossly Deficient Health Care (06/13/2007)
SAN DIEGO -- The American Civil Liberties Union today filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of immigrant detainees at San Diego Correctional Facility (SDCF), charging that inadequate medical and mental health care have caused unnecessary suffering and, in several cases, avoidable death.

ACLU Calls for State Department and DHS to Stop Deportation to Torture of Coptic Christian to Egypt (06/04/2007)
NEW YORK -- The American Civil Liberties Union today condemned the government’s announcement that that it intends to deport Pennsylvania resident Sameh Khouzam to Egypt, a country the State Department reports engages in torture. The United States government claims it has received “diplomatic assurances” from Egypt and moved to deport Khouzam last week, despite a ruling by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit that he would likely be tortured upon his return.

ACLU Seeks Release of Gulf War Vet Illegally Detained for Three Years (05/22/2007)
NEW YORK – The American Civil Liberties Union today filed a habeas petition seeking the release of Warren Joseph, a Gulf War veteran and immigrant from Trinidad who is a permanent resident of the United States. Joseph has been illegally locked up for more than three years in immigration custody in a New Jersey prison.

ACLU of New Jersey Provides UN Rapporteur with Report on Immigration Detention that Outlines Concerns of Abuse (05/15/2007)
NEWARK - The American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey today provided the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants with a report on immigration detention conditions in New Jersey to help inform him of conditions affecting immigrants during his fact-finding mission in the United States.

ACLU of Southern California Learns Immigrants Are Forcibly Drugged for Deportation (05/08/2007)
LOS ANGELES - The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California has learned that two immigrants were forcibly sedated by the United States government. Raymond Soeoth and Amadou Diouf, clients in an ACLU of Southern California lawsuit, revealed that they had both been drugged involuntarily during attempts to deport them.

U.N. Independent Expert Denied Access to Hutto Detention Center (05/04/2007)
NEW YORK - The American Civil Liberties Union today called on the U.S. government to explain why it is denying a United Nations independent expert access to the Hutto immigrant detention facility in Taylor, Texas.

Civil Rights Groups Sue Immigration Officials for Unlawfully Detaining Six-Year-Old U.S. Citizen (04/26/2007)
SAN FRANCISCO – The American Civil Liberties Union, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights, the ACLU of Northern California, and the law firm of Coblentz, Patch, Duffy & Bass LLP, filed a lawsuit today on behalf of a U.S. citizen child who was unlawfully detained for ten hours by immigration officials.

Court Says ACLU Likely to Prevail on Claims Regarding Immigrant Children Detained at Hutto Facility in Texas (04/10/2007)
AUSTIN, TX - In a ruling issued late Monday, a Texas federal court found that the American Civil Liberties Union is “highly likely to prevail” at trial on its claims that the detention of immigrant children at the T. Don Hutto facility in Taylor, Texas is an abuse of discretion by federal officials and violates applicable legal standards.

ACLU Challenges Illegal Detention of Immigrant Children Held in Prison-Like Conditions (03/06/2007)
AUSTIN, TX - The American Civil Liberties Union today filed lawsuits on behalf of ten immigrant children, challenging their illegal detention at the T. Don Hutto facility in Taylor, Texas.

ACLU of Massachusetts Blasts Governor’s Plan to Use State Police as Federal Immigration Agents (06/22/2006)
BOSTON -- A plan by Governor Mitt Romney to use state police as federal immigration agents will undermine public safety by diverting scarce police resources away from real crime fighting and deterring residents from reporting crimes, while increasing the risk of illegal racial and ethnic profiling, said lawyers with the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts.

As Senate Immigration Bill Stalls, ACLU Calls for Much-Needed Fixes, Says Lawmakers Must Act to Protect Due Process and Privacy (04/07/2006)
WASHINGTON - As legislation to reform the nation’s immigration laws stalled in the Senate today, the American Civil Liberties Union urged lawmakers to modify that legislation to better protect privacy, judicial review and due process rights.

Senate Immigration Bill Lacks Privacy and Due Process Protections, ACLU Says; Lawmakers Must Fix Shortcomings in Proposed Legislation (03/02/2006)
WASHINGTON - As the Senate Judiciary Committee met today to begin consideration of legislation concerning immigration, the American Civil Liberties Union urged lawmakers to make changes to the underlying bill to better protect the privacy and civil liberties of all persons in the country, citizens and non-citizens alike. Last year, the House passed a border security and immigration reform bill that greatly undermines the freedoms of all Americans.

ACLU Urges House To Reject "Border Security" Bill, Warns of Unintended Consequences For America’s Workers (12/16/2005)
WASHINGTON - With a vote looming on an ill-considered and short-sighted immigration bill, the American Civil Liberties Union today urged the House of Representatives to oppose legislation that would have a detrimental impact on Americans’ ability to work and would also undermine due process in the immigration system.

ACLU Opposes Faulty "Border Security" Bill, Proposal Would Require Workers to Get Government "Permission Slip" (12/15/2005)
WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union today urged the House of Representatives to oppose a border security bill that fails to properly address the issue of illegal immigration, undermines due process and creates a federally mandated "permission slip" for all Americans. This sweeping legislation has not been thoroughly examined by Congress, and yet could be considered as early as today.