Abuses

Council Files Civil Rights Complaint Over Dangerous ICE Detention Policies During Coronavirus Pandemic
The complaint calls on oversight agencies to demand immediate action by ICE to help stop the spread of the coronavirus where social distancing is not possible, including: Read More

How Immigration Enforcement Is Eroding Your Privacy
The United States has pursued aggressive increases in immigration enforcement over the past two decades across several presidencies. Congress has allocated increasing resources during this period. Now, our immigration enforcement agencies have more funding than at any point in history. These added resources have allowed the… Read More

Supreme Court Rules Parents of Slain Teenager Can’t Sue Border Patrol Agent Responsible for His Death
The Supreme Court affirmed the dismissal of a lawsuit seeking damages from a U.S. Border Patrol agent who shot and killed a teenager across the U.S.-Mexico border. With this latest decision in the Hernandez v. Mesa case, the Court removed an important check on an agency… Read More

Federal Court Finds Conditions in Customs and Border Protection Detention Facilities Unconstitutional
A federal court ordered U.S. Customs and Border Protection to overhaul the way the agency detains people in its custody in the Tucson Sector. The court found that the conditions in CBP holding cells, especially those that preclude sleep over several nights, are presumptively punitive and violate the U.S. Constitution. Read More

The Fight to Stop ICE From Destroying Records About Deaths and Abuse in Its Custody
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) plans to destroy thousands of records documenting horrific treatment of immigrants in the agency’s custody. The records contain vital details about people’s experience in immigration detention. They include information about deaths in detention, investigations into sexual and physical abuse, and medical and civil rights… Read More

FOIA Requests to Preserve Records Regarding Civil Rights Complaints and Records of Deaths and Abuse in ICE Custody
In December 2019, the National Archives approved a schedule for destruction of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) records which slates numerous categories of documents addressing abuses in detention to be destroyed immediately or after short periods of time and almost no records to be permanently preserved. Why is the… Read More

Customs and Border Protection Officials Are Allowed Full Anonymity Under FOIA—and That’s a Blow to Government Transparency
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)—the largest law enforcement agency within the Department of Homeland Security, with tens of thousands of officers charged with policing our borders—is becoming more secretive. In fact, according to recent reporting, the agency is skittish when it comes to revealing the names of its officers… Read More

Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center v. Wolf
The American Immigration Council and the American Immigration Lawyers Association submitted an amicus brief in Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center v. Wolf, a case filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Texas, the ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project, and ACLU of the District of Columbia. The amicus brief urges the… Read More

Trial Challenging Unconstitutional Conditions in Customs and Border Protection’s Facilities in Arizona Ends
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. Read More

On Trial: Inhumane Conditions in Customs and Border Protection Facilities in Arizona
After more than four years of gathering evidence of the substandard conditions in the government’s short-term detention facilities in Arizona’s Tucson Sector, a case challenging these conditions called Doe v. Wolf went to trial on Monday. Over the course of the trial, plaintiffs will show how… Read More
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