Stanford Law School Immigrants’ Rights Clinic Files Class Action Lawsuit on Behalf of Immigrant Detainees
The Stanford Law School (SLS) Immigrants’ Rights Clinic (IRC) today filed a class-action lawsuit to protect the rights of immigrant detainees to communicate with their attorneys. The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court in Riverside, was brought on behalf of individual detainees and two prominent, non-profit legal organizations — the American Immigration Lawyers Association and the Immigrant Defenders Law Center — that provide legal services to detainees. The IRC filed the class action lawsuit against ICE, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, and the private prison operator Geo Group, Inc. The American Civil Liberties Foundation of Southern California is the co-counsel in the lawsuit. Details about the lawsuit and a link to the filing is below.
Numerous IRC clinic students over three quarters developed the legal theories and class action strategy underlying the lawsuit, and drafted the complaint. Students also visited immigration detention facilities on six different occasions to interview detainees. The law students who worked to develop the complaint and legal strategy were: Beth Braiterman ’19, Yvette Borja ’18, Grace Chang ’19, Hannah Coleman ’19, Jon Collier ’19, Katie Guthrie ’19, Patrick Kennedy ’19, Eunice Kim ’19, Haley Millner ’18, Annie Shi ’19, and Josh Walden ’19.
Commenting on the lawsuit, Mr. Walden stated, “When we went to these detention facilities and spoke with the noncitizens confined there, we were alarmed to learn just how difficult it is for them to communicate with people outside the buildings’ walls or even to schedule in-person visits. These facilities maintain policies concerning access to telephones, mail, and private visits that are so restrictive they fall far short even of ICE’s own published national detention standards.”
After her visits to the detention centers, Ms. Shi reflected: “This detention center trip has really taught me a lot about gaining perspective, sharing compassion, and challenging assumptions. Each day was exhausting but also purposeful. I felt motivated to help people but also humbled by how little I could do for them and how privileged I am to be on this side of the plexiglass. I hope that more people can learn about immigration detention and do something to make it better.”
Ms. Chang observed: “I was surprised that our detention center trips to Theo Lacy and Musick were some of the most rewarding experiences for me thus far in the clinic. The trip was also an emotional rollercoaster, but I think I was expecting it to be more draining than rewarding. Instead, I found that I really valued the human aspect of meeting with individuals and learning of their circumstances, even if those circumstances were awful. I came away inspired by some of the individuals I met and their tenacity, and I realized a greater understanding of why it was so important to me to work on this issue.”
Students in the Clinic worked under the supervision of SLS Clinical Supervising Attorney Jennifer Stark and Clinic Director and Professor of Law Jayashri Srikantiah.
Lawsuit: ICE Detention Centers Deny Detainees Contact with Attorneys
DECEMBER 17, 2018, RIVERSIDE and STANFORD, CA. —For immigrants facing deportation, assistance from attorneys can make a profound difference in the outcome of their cases — immigrants with lawyers have an overwhelmingly better chance of being able to stay in the U.S. For asylum seekers, it can be a matter of life or death.
But at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers in Southern California, officials make it nearly impossible for many detainees to contact and consult with attorneys. That violates not only the Immigration and Nationality Act, but also the First and Fifth Amendments to the Constitution.
The American Civil Liberties Foundation of Southern California and the Immigrants’ Rights Clinic at Stanford Law School have filed a class action lawsuit against ICE, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, and the private prison operator Geo Group, Inc. for creating unlawful barriers to attorney-client communications.
“The Constitution guarantees immigrants the right to meaningfully communicate with their attorneys, said Jennifer Stark, clinical supervising attorney with the Stanford Immigrants’ Rights Clinic. The complaint was drafted and researched by clinic students, including Gracie Chang, Annie Shi, and Josh Walden.
The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Riverside, was brought on behalf of individual detainees and two prominent, non-profit legal organizations — the American Immigration Lawyers Association and the Immigrant Defenders Law Center — that provide legal services to detainees.
At the immigration centers named in the suit — the Theo Lacy and James A. Musick facilities in Orange County operated by the Orange County Sheriff, and the Adelanto ICE Processing Center in San Bernardino County operated by Geo — officials make it nearly impossible for many detainees to communicate with attorneys and collect documentation necessary to pursue their claims.
“Legal representation is fundamental to ensuring due process for immigrants facing removal, but when our detained clients can’t effectively communicate with us, our abilities to be effective advocates are compromised,” said Meeth Soni, co-legal director at the Immigrant Defenders Law Center.
Telephone access — often detainees’ main conduit to the outside world — is severely restricted, non-confidential, and expensive to the point that many detainees have had no opportunity to contact organizations or private attorneys for legal help. To make matters worse, the phone systems won’t allow detainees to leave recorded messages or navigate an automated menu to reach a live individual— it cuts them off if the call is not answered by a live person.
If a detainee succeeds in getting assistance from a lawyer, face-to-face meetings necessary to build a case are limited to the point of being nearly useless. The suit charges that the detainee facilities have very few or no private consultation rooms. In many cases, detainees and lawyers are forced to meet where their conversations can be easily overheard.
“The U.S. government has placed arbitrary barriers between immigrant detainees and their lawyers which must be eliminated if justice is to be served,” said Ben Johnson, executive director of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.
The individual plaintiffs named in the suit include Desmond Tenghe, who is seeking asylum in the U.S. Tenghe earns $1 a day working at the Adelanto facility — hardly enough for the paid phone calls he needs to make to not only seek legal representation but also get documents needed for his case. Tenghe has submitted several requests for free calls, but ICE and Geo has never provided them.
Another plaintiff, Jason Nsinano, has been detained for over three years, initially in Adelanto and currently in Theo Lacy. Nsinano has been kept in his cell in protective custody where he has no access to a telephone for about 22 hours a day. His scarce access to telephones usually falls outside of business hours, leaving him unable to make legal calls. The phone system also prevents him from calling human rights organizations, impeding his efforts to obtain critical information relating to his asylum case.
“Every day, hundreds of immigrants like Mr. Tenghe and Mr. Nsisano are denied access to critically needed legal assistance, in violation of their constitutional rights,” said Michael Kaufman, the Sullivan & Cromwell Access to Justice senior staff attorney at the ACLU Foundation of Southern California.
The lawsuit asks that the court provide detainees the ability to make private, unmonitored legal phone calls; establish reasonable accommodations for detainees who cannot afford to make calls; and provide sufficient spaces for confidential legal visits.
About the Immigrants’ Rights Clinic
Students in the Immigrants’ Rights Clinic have full responsibility for defending clients against deportation in San Francisco Immigration Court, the Board of Immigration Appeals, and the federal courts of appeals. As part of that work, students write complex legal briefs, argue cases, conduct fact investigation, interview witnesses and clients, and represent clients in mini-trials. Students also engage in cutting-edge litigation and advocacy in partnership with local and national immigrants’ rights organizations.
About Stanford Law School
Stanford Law School is one of the nation’s leading institutions for legal scholarship and education. Its alumni are among the most influential decision makers in law, politics, business and high technology. Faculty members argue before the Supreme Court, testify before Congress, produce outstanding legal scholarship and empirical analysis, and contribute regularly to the nation’s press as legal and policy experts. Stanford Law School has established a new model for legal education that provides rigorous interdisciplinary training, hands-on experience, global perspective and focus on public service, spearheading a movement for change.