Detention Conditions in Border Patrol Facilities
Jane Doe #1, et al. v. Jeh Johnson, et al.
Briefs, Memos, and Orders Filed with/Issued by the Federal District Court for the District of Arizona (from latest to earliest):
- Order granting in part and denying in part the motion for civil contempt (3/13/17, PDF)
- Order: Preliminary Injunction (11/18/16, PDF)
“IT IS ORDERED that the Motion for a Preliminary Injunction … is GRANTED as follows: 1. Clean bedding … 2. Personal hygiene needs … 3. … universal use of … Medical Screening Form … 4. Defendants shall monitor for compliance the following ….” - Brief in Support of Plaintiffs’ Motion for Preliminary Injunction (8/17/16, PDF)
“… Plaintiffs … hereby move for a preliminary injunction (1) enjoining Defendants and their agents and employees from subjecting Plaintiffs to conditions of confinement in Tucson Sector stations that violate Plaintiffs’ Due Process rights by depriving Plaintiffs of sleep, warmth, a safe and sanitary environment, and medical screening and care; and (2) compelling Defendants … to enforce certain minimal standards related to Plaintiffs’ detention.” - Declarations in Support of Plaintiffs’ Motion for Preliminary Injunction (8/17/16, PDFs) — Robert W. Powitz (forensic sanitarian with almost 50 years of experience in corrections) | Joe Goldenson, MD (physician with 28 years of experience as director/medical director for jail health services) | Eldon Vail (former corrections administrator with nearly 35 years of experience working in and administering adult and juvenile institutions)
- Order granting plaintiffs’ motion for expedited discovery (8/14/15, PDF)
“IT IS ORDERED that the Motion for Expedited Discovery (Doc. 25) is GRANTED.
“IT IS FURTHER ORDERED the Plaintiffs are granted permission to conduct expedited discovery, as follows: …” - Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief (6/8/15, PDF)
“Plaintiffs are civil detainees confined in a U.S. Customs and Border Protection … facility within the Tucson Sector of the U.S. Border Patrol…. During their confinement, Plaintiffs and many others like them—men, women, and children—have been subjected to inhumane and punitive conditions. They have been packed into overcrowded and filthy holding cells with the lights glaring day and night; stripped of outer layers of clothing and forced to suffer in brutally cold temperatures; deprived of beds, bedding, and sleep; denied adequate food, water, medicine and medical care, and basic sanitation and hygiene items such as soap, sufficient toilet paper, sanitary napkins, diapers, and showers; and held incommunicado in these conditions for days. These conditions exist in all of the short-term detention facilities that CBP currently operates and maintains in its Tucson Sector, and thus Plaintiffs and putative class members are harmed no matter where they are detained within the Sector. Plaintiffs bring this action challenging these harsh and degrading conditions in Tucson Sector CBP facilities on behalf of themselves and all those similarly situated.”
MORE INFORMATION
Notice of Class Action Litigation
NILC Issue Brief
Images of Deplorable Detention Conditions (released in Aug. 2016)
From the American Immigration Council
- Former Detainees Describe Horrific Conditions in U.S. Border Patrol Detention
- Way Too Long: Prolonged Detention in Border Patrol Holding Cells, Government Records Show
- Border Patrol “Hieleras”: Background and Legal Action
NEWS RELEASES
• Federal Court Order: Border Patrol Hieleras Can No Longer Be a Constitution-Free Zone
• Court Orders Release of Graphic Photos of Arizona Border Patrol Detention Facilities and Damning Expert Witness Testimony (8/18/16)
• Court Orders Release of Some Evidence of Arizona Border Patrol Detention Facilities While Border Patrol Fights Full Release (6/27/16)
• Immigrants Held for Days in Freezing, Unsanitary Cells File Class-Action Lawsuit (6/10/15)
• Court Orders Release of Graphic Photos of Arizona Border Patrol Detention Facilities and Damning Expert Witness Testimony (8/18/16)
• Court Orders Release of Some Evidence of Arizona Border Patrol Detention Facilities While Border Patrol Fights Full Release (6/27/16)
• Immigrants Held for Days in Freezing, Unsanitary Cells File Class-Action Lawsuit (6/10/15)
STATEMENTS FROM PEOPLE WHO WERE DETAINED
Excerpts from statements by people who were formerly detained by the Border Patrol in Tucson Sector holding cells. The statements describe horrific conditions.