{"id":21186,"date":"2020-01-22T16:19:55","date_gmt":"2020-01-23T00:19:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nilc.org\/?p=21186"},"modified":"2020-01-22T16:21:23","modified_gmt":"2020-01-23T00:21:23","slug":"trial-re-conditions-inside-uscbp-facilities-in-az-ends","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nilc.org\/2020\/01\/22\/trial-re-conditions-inside-uscbp-facilities-in-az-ends\/","title":{"rendered":"Trial Challenging Unconstitutional Conditions Inside U.S. Customs and Border Protection\u2019s Facilities in Arizona Ends"},"content":{"rendered":"
[vc_row el_class=”holder” css=”.vc_custom_1444345515294{margin-top: -75px !important;}”][vc_column width=”1\/1″][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner el_class=”” width=”1\/1″][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner el_class=”” width=”3\/4″][vc_column_text]\n

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<\/strong>
\nJanuary 22, 2020<\/p>\n

CONTACT
\n<\/strong>– Juan Gastelum, National Immigration Law Center, 213-375-3149, media@nilc.org<\/a>
\n– Marcela Taracena, ACLU of Arizona, 602-773-6004, media@acluaz.org<\/a>
\n– Maria Frausto, American Immigration Council, 202-507-7526, mfrausto@immcouncil.org<\/a>
\n– Matt Kovac, Lawyers\u2019 Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area, 415-543-9444, mkovac@lccrsf.org<\/a>
\n– Kristin Loe, Morrison & Foerster LLP, 415-268-6410, kloe@mofo.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Trial Challenging Unconstitutional Conditions Inside U.S. Customs and Border Protection\u2019s Facilities in Arizona Ends<\/h1>\n

Immigration groups advocated on behalf of detained migrant men, women, and children who experienced dirty, cold, and overcrowded conditions in Border Patrol detention centers in the Tucson Sector<\/em><\/h3>\n

TUCSON \u2014 Today, a federal judge heard closing arguments in Doe v. Wolf<\/a><\/em>, a lawsuit filed by the National Immigration Law Center, the ACLU of Arizona, the American Immigration Council, the Lawyers\u2019 Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area, and law firm Morrison & Foerster LLP.<\/p>\n

The lawsuit, filed in 2015, seeks a permanent remedy to the inhumane conditions in U.S. Border Patrol detention centers in Arizona\u2019s Tucson Sector. Evidence gathered in the case revealed cold and overcrowded conditions where there was no access to beds and limited access to soap, showers, adequate meals, and medical care.<\/p>\n

During the course of the trial, a federal judge heard from qualified experts who testified on the inadequate medical care and severe conditions inside CBP detention centers. Another witness summarized government data that showed detention in these facilities are intended only for short-term confinement.<\/p>\n

The judge also heard from two witnesses previously held in Tucson Sector facilities. One witness described very cold and filthy conditions and alleged she was not provided with any personal hygiene items or received any medical attention to an infected wound. She also described receiving a burrito that looked green and was past its expiration date. Another witness described inadequate medical care for her high-risk pregnancy and cells so overcrowded that she was forced to sleep on the floor next to a bathroom stall. She recounted the trouble she had moving around to get to the toilet to vomit.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis case is about the dignity we provide to vulnerable men, women, and children seeking safety,\u201d said Alessandra Navidad, executive director for the ACLU of Arizona<\/strong>. \u201cWe hope the court remedies Border Patrol\u2019s harsh treatment of migrants and that those detained in the future are granted the humane treatment the constitution provides them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cVery few facts were in dispute at trial,\u201d said Colette Reiner Mayer, trial counsel from Morrison & Foerster<\/strong>. \u201cIt was undisputed that although these facilities were designed for short-term detention, they are now routinely used to hold detainees for more than 72 hours. Likewise, there was no dispute that detainees are forced to sleep on the floor and are provided nothing for warmth but a thin mylar blanket. We are happy to be one step closer to ending the unconstitutional conditions in the Border Patrol\u2019s hold rooms.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAt trial, plaintiffs\u2019 case revealed a systemic problem that\u2019s been allowed to persist for far too long,\u201d said Karolina Walters, staff attorney at the American Immigration Council<\/strong>. \u201cNow that the court has all the facts and heard the arguments, we hope for a permanent remedy that will build upon the court\u2019s earlier findings, ensure humane conditions in the Tucson Sector, and serve as an example for other CBP facilities.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis trial has made clear what we already knew: that CBP cannot justify the disgusting and dehumanizing conditions to which it subjects immigrants in its custody,\u201d said Bree Bernwanger, senior staff attorney at the Lawyers\u2019 Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area<\/strong>. \u201cOur clients testified that they spent days in CBP custody with nowhere to sit or lie but on the floor in the doorway to a bathroom, that they vomited continuously without receiving medical attention, and that they spent night after night in freezing hold rooms, shivering and unable to sleep. These conditions are as senseless as they are harmful. We hope that this trial will lead to a permanent solution that brings the agency into compliance with the Constitution and guarantees humane treatment for our clients.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the heart of this matter are issues of basic human dignity,\u201d said Alvaro Huerta, staff attorney at the National Immigration Law Center<\/strong>. \u201cAs the judge aptly reminded the courtroom at the outset of this trial, this case is fundamentally about how we, as a country, treat people and what consequences that treatment has in their lives.\u00a0We stand firmly in our belief that all people should be treated humanely and with dignity, and not detained in conditions that put their health and safety at risk.\u201d<\/p>\n

Immigration attorneys involved in the case held a telephonic press briefing following the trial, where they spoke on the inadequate medical care and severe conditions inside CBP detention centers. A recording of the briefing is available at www.nilc.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Doe-v-Wolf-telepressconference-2020-01-22.mp3<\/a>.<\/p>\n

# # #<\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/4″ css=”.vc_custom_1446077129866{margin-top: -15px !important;}”][vc_widget_sidebar sidebar_id=”sidebar-1″][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner el_class=”” width=”1\/1″][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_row el_class=”holder” css=”.vc_custom_1444345515294{margin-top: -75px !important;}”][vc_column width=”1\/1″][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner el_class=”” width=”1\/1″][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner el_class=”” width=”3\/4″][vc_column_text] FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 22, 2020 CONTACT – Juan Gastelum, National Immigration Law Center, 213-375-3149, media@nilc.org – Marcela Taracena, ACLU of Arizona, 602-773-6004, media@acluaz.org – Maria Frausto, American Immigration Council, 202-507-7526, mfrausto@immcouncil.org – Matt Kovac, Lawyers\u2019 Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[133,2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nilc.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21186"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nilc.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nilc.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nilc.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nilc.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21186"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nilc.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21186\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21187,"href":"https:\/\/www.nilc.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21186\/revisions\/21187"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nilc.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21186"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nilc.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21186"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nilc.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21186"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}