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ACLU report blasts violations of basic rights for hundreds of immigrants detained in Massachusetts (12/10/2008)
BOSTON -- Hundreds of people not accused of committing crimes are being detained for long periods in Massachusetts jails -- in conditions that violate fundamental rights -- and they are subject to retaliation if they complain to authorities, according to a two-year investigation by the ACLU of Massachusetts.

ACLU Agrees to Represent Family of Chinese Detainee Who Died at Wyatt Detention Facility (09/29/2008)
PROVIDENCE, RI - The Rhode Island ACLU today announced that it has agreed to provide legal representation to the family of Hiu Liu ("Jason") Ng, the 34-year-old Chinese detainee who died last month while in the custody of immigration officials at the Wyatt Detention Facility in Central Falls. The case will be handled by RI ACLU cooperating attorney John J. McConnell, Jr. of the law firm of Motley Rice, LLC.

ACLU Applauds Senators Menendez and Kennedy for Bill to Protect U.S. Citizens from Unlawful Detention and Deportation (09/26/2008)
Washington, DC – Last night, Senators Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Edward Kennedy (D-MA) introduced legislation to protect U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents from being unlawfully detained and deported by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). In the wake of sweeping immigration raids that have devastated communities across the country, the ACLU welcomes this bill, S.3594, The Protect Citizens and Residents from Unlawful Raids and Detention Act, as the first legislation to require DHS to follow due process standards in executing immigration raids.

Deaths in Custody Reporting Act Must Demand Accountability in Federal Immigration Detention Facilities (09/18/2008)
Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to mark up a bill that reauthorizes a Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) program, called the Deaths in Custody Reporting Program, which is designed to report the deaths of prisoners and immigration detainees in local and state custody. The ACLU urges senators to strengthen the House-passed bill, H.R. 3971, the Deaths in Custody Reporting Act of 2008, by requiring federal detention facilities to report in-custody deaths to the attorney general.

ACLU Calls Immigrant Detainee Basic Medical Care Act of 2008 Long Overdue (09/17/2008)
Washington, DC – Today for the second time in two weeks, the House Judiciary Committee is scheduled to mark up a bill requiring the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to develop procedures to ensure adequate medical and mental health care for all detainees held by DHS Immigrant and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The ACLU urges the House Judiciary Committee members to vote for H.R. 5950, the Detainee Basic Medical Care Act of 2008, introduced by Representative Zoe Lofgren (D-CA). This bill is the first congressional action to provide basic medical care of immigration detainees after months of compelling TV and newspaper exposes detailing deficient medical care and over 60 immigration detention deaths.

ACLU Urges House Judiciary Committee to Support Detainee Basic Medical Care Act of 2008 (09/11/2008)
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, after months of compelling TV and newspaper exposés detailing deficient medical care and over 60 immigration detention deaths, the House Judiciary Committee is scheduled to mark up a bill requiring the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to develop procedures to ensure adequate medical and mental health care for all detainees held by DHS Immigrant and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The ACLU urges the House Judiciary Committee members to vote for H.R. 5950, the Detainee Basic Medical Care Act of 2008, introduced by Representative Zoe Lofgren (D-CA).

ACLU Reacts to DHS OIG Report on ICE Detainee Deaths and Medical Care (07/01/2008)
WASHINGTON, DC – The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) reacts to the release of the Department of Homeland Security Inspector General’s report, “ICE Policies Related to Detainee Deaths and the Oversight of Immigration Detention Facilities.” The report examines two of the 33 detainee deaths reported between January 1, 2005 and May 31, 2007 and DHS’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) standards related to detainee deaths and the medical treatment of immigration detainees.

ACLU In Federal Court Today To Prevent Deportation Of Egyptian To Torture (06/30/2008)
PHILADELPHIA – The American Civil Liberties Union and ACLU of Pennsylvania were in a federal appeals court today challenging the government's efforts to deport an Egyptian torture victim. The government claims to be relying on unreviewable "diplomatic assurances" from Egypt that it will not torture him upon his return. Last January, in the first decision of its kind, a federal district court sided with the ACLU and ordered the government to stop the deportation of Sameh Khouzam based on such secret and unreliable promises and release him under conditions of supervision. However, the Bush administration appealed this ruling, claiming that the executive branch has unfettered authority to deport Khouzam and to detain him indefinitely pending his legal proceedings.

ACLU Sues Department Of Homeland Security For Information On Deaths In Immigration Detention Centers (06/25/2008)
WASHINGTON – The American Civil Liberties Union today sued the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the DHS Office of the Inspector General (OIG) for refusing to turn over thousands of public documents in their possession detailing the deaths of immigration detainees held in U.S. custody.

ACLU Secures End To Overcrowding At San Diego Correctional Facility (06/04/2008)
SAN DIEGO - The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) agreed today to keep the number of immigration detainees housed at the San Diego Correctional Facility (SDCF) within the facility's design capacity.

ACLU Applauds Menendez Legislation Calling for Standards Governing Basic Medical Care of Immigrant Detainees (05/21/2008)
WASHINGTON, DC—The American Civil Liberties Union applauds Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) for his leadership to provide adequate medical care for detainees in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Menendez introduced the Detainee Basic Medical Care Act of 2008 (S.2005), a bill designed to ensure adequate medical care for all detainees held by ICE. The legislation, a companion to H.R. 5950, introduced by Representative Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), requires ICE to also report detainee deaths to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Department of Justice Offices of Inspector General.

ACLU Welcomes Detainee Basic Medical Care Act (05/13/2008)
WASHINGTON – The American Civil Liberties Union applauds Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) for introducing the Detainee Basic Medical Care Act of 2008. This legislation requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to develop procedures to ensure adequate medical care for all detainees held by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The legislation also requires ICE to report detainee deaths to the DHS and Department of Justice Offices of Inspector General.

ACLU Welcomes Immigration Detention Medical Treatment Legislation (05/05/2008)
WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union applauds Representative Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) for introducing H.R. 5950, the Detainee Basic Medical Care Act of 2008. This legislation requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to develop procedures to ensure adequate medical care for all detainees held by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The legislation also requires ICE to report detainee deaths to the DHS and Department of Justice Offices of Inspector General.

ACLU Demands ICE End Illegal Deportation of U.S. Citizens (02/13/2008)
Washington, DC – The story of Pedro Guzman, a U.S. citizen born and raised in California, was invoked today throughout a hearing examining Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s illegal deportation of United States citizens. James Brosnahan, of Morrison & Foerster, who is representing Guzman alongside the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, testified about the plight of the 30-year-old cognitively impaired American citizen illegally deported to Mexico after he was arrested on misdemeanor charges and sent to Los Angeles County jail.

ACLU Calls Passage of Deaths in Custody Bill a Step in the Right Direction (01/23/2008)
Washington, DC – The American Civil Liberties Union today supported a bill passed by the House that compels officials to report deaths of prisoners and immigration detainees in local and state custody. The Deaths in Custody Reporting Act, introduced by Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA), demands accountability and transparency from state and local agencies, where most immigration detainees are held, when people die in custody. The bill does not, however, apply to deaths in federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities.

Egyptian Torture Victim Released From Immigration Detention (01/15/2008)
SCRANTON, PA - Egyptian national Sameh Khouzam was released from detention today days after a federal judge ruled that the U.S. government cannot rely on secret and unreviewable “assurances” from the Egyptian government that it will not torture him upon his return. Last Thursday, the judge granted Khouzam’s habeas corpus petition and ordered that he be immediately freed from a Pennsylvania prison, where he has been held since May. Khouzam is represented by the American Civil Liberties Union.

Court Rejects Government’s Attempt to Deport Egyptian to Torture (01/10/2008)
SCRANTON, PA – In the first decision of its kind, a federal judge today ordered the government to stop the deportation of Egyptian national Sameh Khouzam based on a secret and unreliable “assurance” from the Egyptian government that it will not torture him upon his return. The judge called for Khouzam’s immediate release from jail under reasonable conditions of supervision and granted his habeas corpus petition. The American Civil Liberties Union, which filed a lawsuit on Khouzam’s behalf, applauded the judge’s ruling.

ACLU Argues in Federal Court Today That Prolonged Indefinite Detention of Immigrants Is Illegal (01/07/2008)
PASADENA, CA – In a federal appellate court in California today, the American Civil Liberties Union is arguing that the government is violating the law and the court’s prior rulings by incarcerating immigrants in detention centers for prolonged and indefinite periods of time while they fight their immigration cases.

Amendment to Legislation Will Require Government Transparency and Accountability Regarding Immigrant Deaths in Custody (11/07/2007)
Washington, DC – An amendment that requires officials to report deaths of detainees in local and state custody was passed today by the House Judiciary Committee. The amendment, offered by Representative Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) and attached to H.R. 3971, the Death in Custody Reporting Act of 2007, mandates transparency and accountability by state and local agencies of all immigration detainees who die in their custody. Since most Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees are held in state and local facilities, most of the deaths of immigrants in detention would have to be reported to the attorney general.

ACLU and Victims of Inadequate Medical Care in Immigration Detention Tell Congress to Prevent More Deaths (10/04/2007)
Washington, DC – The American Civil Liberties Union and victims of inadequate medical treatment in immigration detention facilities testified in Congress today urging more oversight of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), in whose custody at least 65 people have died since 2004. According to the ACLU, inadequate medical care may be a leading cause of death in immigration detention. Activists, experts, victims of deficient medical care in ICE detention and relatives of people who died in ICE custody all testified, sharing harrowing stories and sobering facts.