MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A federal judge has ordered the Department of Homeland Security to give immigrants detained in Minnesota access to attorneys immediately after they are taken into custody and before they are transferred out of state.
U.S. District Judge Nancy Brasel issued the emergency restraining order Thursday, finding detainees at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building faced so many logistical barriers to contacting legal counsel that it was likely the Department of Homeland Security had stepped on their constitutional rights.
The order is temporary, and will last for two weeks unless the judge extends it.
“...the government failed to plan for the constitutional rights of its civil detainees,” Brasel wrote in the ruling. She rejected arguments by DHS attorneys which suggested changes to improve access would lead to “chaos.”
“...the Constitution does not permit the government to arrest thousands of individuals and then disregard their constitutional rights because it would be too challenging to honor those rights,” she added.
DHS officials did not respond to a request for comment.
The Advocates for Human Rights and a detainee had filed the lawsuit contending that people held at Whipple are denied adequate access to lawyers, facing the prospect of deportation.
Justice Department attorney Christina Parascandola claimed detainees have access to counsel and unmonitored phone calls at any time, although she had never entered the Whipple facility. However, Judge Brasel found that evidence showed detainees face barriers to accessing attorneys. The judge cited testimony indicating that detainees are often moved quickly and frequently without notice, leaving attorneys unaware of their whereabouts.
The judge ruled that each noncitizen taken into custody must be allowed to contact an attorney within one hour of detention and must not be transferred out of state for the first 72 hours. Furthermore, detainees should receive a comprehensive list of legal service providers and have the ability to communicate freely and privately with their lawyers.
Democracy Forward President Skye Perryman emphasized that the ruling highlights the unlawful nature of the current immigration enforcement approach and the importance of access to legal representation as a fundamental right in America.
U.S. District Judge Nancy Brasel issued the emergency restraining order Thursday, finding detainees at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building faced so many logistical barriers to contacting legal counsel that it was likely the Department of Homeland Security had stepped on their constitutional rights.
The order is temporary, and will last for two weeks unless the judge extends it.
“...the government failed to plan for the constitutional rights of its civil detainees,” Brasel wrote in the ruling. She rejected arguments by DHS attorneys which suggested changes to improve access would lead to “chaos.”
“...the Constitution does not permit the government to arrest thousands of individuals and then disregard their constitutional rights because it would be too challenging to honor those rights,” she added.
DHS officials did not respond to a request for comment.
The Advocates for Human Rights and a detainee had filed the lawsuit contending that people held at Whipple are denied adequate access to lawyers, facing the prospect of deportation.
Justice Department attorney Christina Parascandola claimed detainees have access to counsel and unmonitored phone calls at any time, although she had never entered the Whipple facility. However, Judge Brasel found that evidence showed detainees face barriers to accessing attorneys. The judge cited testimony indicating that detainees are often moved quickly and frequently without notice, leaving attorneys unaware of their whereabouts.
The judge ruled that each noncitizen taken into custody must be allowed to contact an attorney within one hour of detention and must not be transferred out of state for the first 72 hours. Furthermore, detainees should receive a comprehensive list of legal service providers and have the ability to communicate freely and privately with their lawyers.
Democracy Forward President Skye Perryman emphasized that the ruling highlights the unlawful nature of the current immigration enforcement approach and the importance of access to legal representation as a fundamental right in America.
