Approximately 34,000 immigrants are held in the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency’s (ICE) facilities on a daily basis, with roughly 500 to 600 of these immigrants held in northern California detention facilities. These detainees are not serving criminal sentences. They are being held in civil detention as they try to obtain legal counsel or represent themselves, fighting to stay in their adopted country against the government’s attempt to deport them. But, because they are held in extreme isolation, with very little access to the outside world, they hardly stand a chance to vindicate their rights under our immigration laws.
The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Northern California (ACLU-NC), along with pro bono co-counsel Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP filed a class action lawsuit, charging that inadequate telephone access afforded individuals in immigration detention violates their right to a full and fair hearing under federal law and the U.S. Constitution.