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Issue Briefs and Other Resources |
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KNOW-YOUR-RIGHTS ALERTS & INFORMATION |
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Available on the "Community
Education Materials" page.
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NILC Resources |
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Protections for Detained Salvadorans
after a Worksite Raid (HTML). Attorneys and legal
workers representing persons detained in worksite raids should be aware
of two provisions of a permanent injunction that apply nationwide to
nationals of El Salvador detained by immigration authorities.
[PDF] (See also "Orantes-Hernandez,"
below.) (4/08) |
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Administration
Announces Harsh New Immigration Measures (article) and
List of announced measures:
"Improving Border Security and Immigration Within Existing Law"
(Depts. of Homeland Security & Commerce, 8/10/07) |
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U.S. Immigration Detention System:
Substandard Conditions of Confinement and Ineffective Oversight
(NILC
and ACLU of So. Calif.: Presentation prepared for the United Nations
Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants, May 3, 2007) (posted
7/17/07)
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Resources from other nonprofit organizations |
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Constitution on ICE: A Report on Immigration Home Raid Operations
(Immigration Justice Clinic at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, 7/22/09).
Documents the prevalence of constitutional violations committed by
immigration agents who, among other things, have forced their way into
private residences during pre-dawn hours, without warrants or other
legal authority, and seized residents without legal basis, in a pattern
suggestive of racial profiling. |
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U.S. Detention of Asylum Seekers: Seeking Protection, Finding Prison
(Human Rights First, April 2009). (Link posted
5/19/09) |
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Detained and Dismissed: Women’s Struggles to Obtain Health Care in
United States Immigration Detention (Human Rights Watch, Mar. 17,
2009). 78-page report documents dozens of cases in which ICE's
medical staff either failed to respond at all to health problems of
women in detention or responded only after considerable delays. (Link posted
5/19/09) |
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Dying for Decent Care: Bad Medicine in Immigration Custody (Florida
Immigrant Advocacy Center, Feb. 2009). Problems include: no
independent oversight; delayed and denied care; staff shortages;
improper care of mentally ill and physically disabled patients;
inadequate access to medical records; inadequate interpretation; cruel
and abusive staff behavior; unsanitary and overcrowded facilities;
transfer or segregation of detainees in retaliation for medical
complaints. (Link posted 5/19/09) |
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Jailed Without Justice: Immigration Detention in the USA (Amnesty
International, Mar. 2009). "This report focuses on the human rights
violations associated with the dramatic increase in the use of detention
by the United States as an immigration enforcement mechanism." (Link posted
5/19/09) |
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Unseen Prisoners: A Report on Women in Immigration Detention Facilities
in Arizona (Southwest Institute for Research on Women and Bacon
Immigration Law and Policy Program, U. of Arizona, Jan. 2009). Key
concerns identified: inadequate medical care, failure to recognize the
mental health needs, mixing detainees with people serving criminal
sentences, family separation, inadequate access to telephones and legal
material, severe penal conditions for women not serving criminal
sentences, aggressive prosecution and detention of women who pose no
security threat or flight risk. (Link posted
5/20/09) |
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Detention and Deportation in the Age of ICE: Immigrants and Human Rights
in Massachusetts (ACLU of Massachusetts). "[T]racks the
experience of 40 detained persons through the system of detention set up
by [ICE]. The report is the first of its kind to thoroughly
document jail conditions and due process issues for immigrants detained
in Massachusetts. A series of personal stories illustrates that in
its zeal to deport all deportable persons, ICE tramples on fundamental
rights. In-depth analysis of hundreds of pages of government
documents reveals the massive and growing federal presence in our
state." (Link posted 12/15/08) |
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A Child Alone and Without Papers (Center
for Public Policy Priorities). Reveals what happens to more than
43,000 undocumented, unaccompanied children removed annually from the
U.S. and repatriated to their home countries: The U.S. often compromises
children's rights, safety, and well-being, contrary to international law
and U.S. child welfare standards. (11/08) |
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Interactive
Map of the U.S. Immigration Detention System
(Detention Watch Network). The latest version of
DWN's map includes more
detention centers, community organizations and immigration courts,
in-depth information about facilities and related added media such as
photos, videos, articles, and resource links. The map is
user-friendly, with more navigation options than previous versions and a
specific page for each detention center. (7/08) |
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Voices from Detention: A Report on
Human Rights Violations at the Northwest Detention Center
(Seattle Univ. School of Law International Human Rights Clinic &
OneAmerica, 7/08). Among other problems, the study found:
Violations of attorney-client privilege. | Threats and physical
intimidation used to pressure detainees to sign papers. | Mistreatment
by guards and federal marshals. | Inadequate medical care. | Inadequate
treatment of mentally ill detainees, including refugees who'd been
persecuted in their homelands. | Insufficient food and incidents of food
poisoning. | Severe overcrowding. | Language barriers. |
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Immigration Detention and Removal: A
Guide for Detainees and Their Families (Bryan Lonegan and the
Immigration Law Unit of the Legal Aid Society)
(2/06)
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Resources from THE U.S. GOVERNMENT |
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Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Tracking and Transfers of
Detainees (DHS Office of Inspector General, 3/09).
FROM THE EXEC. SUMMARY:
"The Detainee Transfer Notification form was not properly completed for
143 of the 144 transfers we tested. Agency staff interviewed generally
considered completing and providing copies of the transfer forms to
detainees a low priority. Also the staff interviewed did not know that
they were responsible for informing detainees' legal representatives of
transfers." (p. 1) |
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Ensuring Compliance with the ICE
Detention Standards: Procedures for Complaints of Noncompliance
(U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security document) (3/08)
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NEWS
ARTICLES |
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Naturalized veteran detained by ICE
for seven months after serving time for criminal conviction
(Scott Fontaine, "American Citizen Held for Seven Months," The News
Tribune, 8/19/08). Rennison Castillo had been assigned two
A-numbers at different times, had served in the Army and been
naturalized under the first number, and was detained by ICE under the
second.
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Litigation |
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Immigration Officials Sued for Holding Detainees in Appalling
Conditions at L.A. Detention Facility
(Castellano et al. v. Napolitano).
The lawsuit, filed April 1, 2009, charges that ICE detains immigrants in
egregious, unsanitary conditions, without soap, drinking water,
toothpaste or toothbrushes, sanitary napkins, changes of clothing, or
showers.
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Court Denies Federal Officials'
Attempt to Evade Responsibility for Medical Neglect that led to Former
Immigrant Detainee's Penile Amputation and Death
(Francisco Castaneda v. U.S., 2008 WL 704073 (C.D. Cal. 2008). | Article
on website of
Public Justice,
with links to the
complaint and the federal district court's
ruling, issued 3/11/08.) |
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Orantes-Hernandez v. Holder (formerly Orantes-Hernandez v. Gonzales)
The 9th Circuit affirmed the district
court's decision in this case, and on July 6, 2009, the U.S.
Dept. of Justice filed a notice that it would not be filing a petition
for rehearing. The appellate court's
decision is therefore
final and available
here (PDF).
(4/6/09)
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Injunction
Upheld: Judge Finds Widespread Abuses in Immigrant Detention:
Troubling Evidence That Asylum Seekers' Rights Are Not Respected
(Tues., July 31, 2007). (News release
in Spanish.)
(7/31/07)
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Orantes-Hernandez v.
Gonzales, No. 82-01107 MMM(VBKx) (C.D.Cal. Nov. 26,
2007) (Modified, Consolidated Injunction).
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Orantes-Hernandez v.
Gonzales, No. 82-01107 MMM(VBKx) (C.D.Cal. July 24,
2007) (Amended Order Granting in Part and Denying in Part
Defendants' Motion to Dissolve the Orantes Injunction).
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Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
request, filed Mar. 15, 2007, re: observations and
evaluations of or reports about detention conditions in U.S.
facilities.
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See also "Protections for Detained Salvadorans after a
Worksite Raid," above.
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See also IMMIGRANTS' RIGHTS UPDATE articles,
below.
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Immigrants' Rights Update Articles
(back
to IRU index) |
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Orantes-Hernandez v. Gonzales
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Court Upholds Nationwide Injunction
of Immigration Detention and Removal Processing Abuses (10/5/07) |
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Immigration Costs: The Case of the
Two Arellanos (10/5/07) |
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Immigration Detention Centers under
the Microscope: Recent Reports Reveal Widespread Violations of the
National Detention Standards (7/20/07) |
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US-VISIT:
Technological Fix Ordered by Congress Stymied for Lack of Know-How,
Funds (2/20/07) |
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Deplorable
Immigrant Detention Conditions Detailed (2/20/07) |
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Orantes-Hernandez v. Gonzales
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DHS seeks to dissolve Orantes
permanent injunction in order to use expedited removal against
Salvadoran class members (12/22/05) |
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Bill authorizing
enforcement of immigration law by state and local authorities introduced
in Senate (12/22/05)
(posted under "Local Law Enforcement Issues") |
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Clark v. Martinez
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Supreme Court Rules INA Does Not Authorize
Indefinite Detention of Inadmissible Immigrants (2/10/05) |
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L.A. County to Enter Limited MOU
with ICE to Permit
Immigration Enforcement at County Jail (2/10/05) |
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See
IRU index for
newsletter articles published before 2005. |
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