NYIFUP Reports Immigrants Organize Second Hunger Strike in NJ Detention Center In Protest of Egregious Conditions Amid COVID-19 Pandemic
March 20, 2020 CONTACTS: Alejandra Lopez, The Legal Aid Society, 917-294-9348, AILopez@legal-aid.org Ryan Karerat, The Bronx Defenders, 917-635-4326, rkarerat@bronxdefenders.org Dan Ball, Brooklyn Defender Services, 203-213-9303, dball@bds.org ***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*** NYIFUP Reports Immigrants Organize Second Hunger Strike in NJ Detention Center In Protest of Egregious Conditions Amid COVID-19 Pandemic As Immigrants Strike in Hudson…
Vice: Immigrants Are Now on Hunger Strike in 3 ICE Detention Centers Over Coronavirus Fears
“Attorneys who represent detainees at the Hudson and Essex County facilities say inmates are reporting threats and intimidation by guards when they’re heard discussing conditions on the phone. Because detention centers across the country have already canceled in-person visits from family and attorneys as a precautionary measure, this means detainees are increasingly isolated and in…
NYIFUP Statement on Bergen County Corrections Officer Testing Positive for COVID-19 and Continued ICE Enforcement During Pandemic
March 19, 2020 CONTACTS: Alejandra Lopez, The Legal Aid Society, 917-294-9348, AILopez@legal-aid.org Ryan Karerat, The Bronx Defenders, 917-635-4326, rkarerat@bronxdefenders.org Dan Ball, Brooklyn Defender Services, 203-213-9303, dball@bds.org ***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*** NYIFUP Statement on Bergen County Corrections Officer Testing Positive for COVID-19 and Continued ICE Enforcement During Pandemic NYC Public Defenders Blast ICE Response to COVID-19…
NJ.com: ICE detainees go on hunger strike in N.J amid coronavirus fears, lawyers say
“The hunger strike just underlines how deeply problematic ICE’s management of the situation is,” the joint statement said. “We are in the midst of an unprecedented crisis. ICE has done nothing to rise to the occasion but instead continues to put the lives of hundreds of people at risk.” The statement says that attorneys from…
The Appeal: ICE Detainees Launch Hunger Strike Over Coronavirus Fears
The organizers are attempting to spread the strike through the whole facility, including to workers at the jail. “We are asking our fellow brothers in ICE [custody] to join us. We are also asking the kitchen workers that work in the main kitchen downstairs to not go to work,” the strikers said. “There is power…
Immigrants in NJ Detention Center Organize Hunger Strike; NYIFUP Condemns Egregious Conditions in Local ICE Jails Amid COVID-19 Pandemic
March 18, 2020 CONTACTS: Alejandra Lopez, The Legal Aid Society, 917-294-9348, AILopez@legal-aid.org Ryan Karerat, The Bronx Defenders, 917-635-4326, rkarerat@bronxdefenders.org Dan Ball, Brooklyn Defender Services, 203-213-9303, dball@bds.org ***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*** Immigrants in NJ Detention Center Organize Hunger Strike; NYIFUP Condemns Egregious Conditions in Local ICE Jails Amid COVID-19 Pandemic NYC Public Defenders Demand ICE Release Vulnerable…
Yahoo: ICE Arrests Need To Stop NOW To Prevent The Spread Of Coronavirus
Thankfully, there are some courageous lawyers in New York City who are fighting to change this dangerous status quo. They join the ranks of prominent organizations like the ACLU who filed suit against ICE on Monday for the release of nine detainees held at a Washington state detention center who are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19. This current…
NYCLU and Bronx Defenders Seek Emergency Relief for People in ICE Detention
NYCLU and Bronx Defenders Seek Emergency Relief for People in ICE Detention Expedited decision sought for people in NYC facilities as threat of COVID-19 looms For Immediate Release: March 17, 2020 Media contact: Ben Schaefer, bschaefer@nyclu.org, 212-607-3372 Ryan Karerat, rkarerat@bronxdefenders.org, 917-635-4326 NEW YORK – The New York Civil Liberties Union and The Bronx Defenders have…
HipLatina: ICE Is Bringing Kids to NYC Despite Coronavirus Outbreak
The coronavirus outbreak has closed schools, businesses, and has forced many to remain at home. With so many precautions underway, several organizations allege that ICE is handling undocumented people as if it was business as usual. NSC learned ICE was transporting 6 minors from Dallas to NY during #COVIDー19 We went to the airport to witness their…
NYIFUP Demands ICE Release Immigrants In Local Jails And Halt All Arrests Due to Their Failure to Respond On Coronavirus Crisis
March 13, 2020 CONTACT: Ryan Karerat, The Bronx Defenders, rkarerat@bronxdefenders.org Dan Ball, Brooklyn Defender Services, dball@bds.org Alejandra Lopez, The Legal Aid Society, AILopez@legal-aid.org ***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*** NYIFUP DEMANDS ICE RELEASE IMMIGRANTS IN LOCAL JAILS AND HALT ALL ARRESTS DUE TO THEIR FAILURE TO RESPOND ON CORONAVIRUS CRISIS NYC Public Defenders Also Calling for Postponement of…
Joint Defender Statement Calling for Immediate Release of Vulnerable Incarcerated New Yorkers in Response to Coronavirus
March 16, 2020 Contact Redmond Haskins, The Legal Aid Society (RHaskins@legal-aid.org) Daniel Ball, Brooklyn Defender Services (DBall@bds.org) Ryan Karerat, The Bronx Defenders (RKarerat@bronxdefenders.org) Lupe Todd-Medina, New York County Defender Services (LToddmedina@nycds.org) Sam McCann, The Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem (SMccann@ndsny.org) ***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*** Joint Defender Statement Calling for Immediate Release of Vulnerable Incarcerated…
The Baffler: The Deserving Migrant
The New York Immigrant Family Unity Project ensures that everyone in ICE custody in New York City is guaranteed access to an attorney, regardless of their criminal legal status. “We never wanted to play into the rhetoric of the ‘good, deserving’ immigrant versus the less deserving person who may have had contact with the criminal legal system,”…
NYIFUP Demands Answers from ICE On How NYC-Area Detention Centers Will Respond to Coronavirus Crisis
NYIFUP Demands Answers from ICE On How NYC-Area Detention Centers Will Respond to Coronavirus Crisis FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 9, 2020 CONTACT: Alejandra Lopez, The Legal Aid Society, 917-294-9348, AILopez@legal-aid.org Ryan Karerat, The Bronx Defenders, rkarerat@bronxdefenders.org Dan Ball, Brooklyn Defender Services, dball@bds.org (NEW YORK, NY) – The Legal Aid Society, Brooklyn Defender Services, and The Bronx Defenders – New…
Latin Post: ICE Sued for Misconduct by New York Civil Rights Activists
The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is going to undergo legal proceedings for the improper processing of immigrants. The migrants were supposed to stay idle and wait for their court hearings without being locked up, but ICE did otherwise. ICE is facing a lawsuit that was filed by the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU)…
NYIFUP Demand Letter to ICE re: Coronavirus Response Plans
March 6, 2020 Thomas Decker New York Field Office Director Immigration and Customs Enforcement 26 Federal Plaza, 9th Floor New York NY 10278 Warden Steven Ahrendt Bergen County Jail 160 S. River Street Hackensack, NJ 07601 Director Ronald P. Edwards Hudson County Correctional Facility 30-35 Hackensack Avenue Kearny, NJ 07032 Sheriff Carl E. DuBois Orange…
Bronx Justice News: ICE Has Secret “No-Release” Policy for Detainees in NYC, Suit Claims
The NYCLU and Bronx Defenders sued the federal government this week, claiming ICE is unlawfully keeping thousands of New Yorkers jailed for non-criminal immigration offenses. Nearly everyone ICE apprehended over the last three years remains in lockup, the lawsuit alleges, despite a federal law mandating individualized custody determinations be made by ICE officials within 48 hours…
Legal Reader: Lawsuit Says ICE Rigged its Own Software So That It’d Never Have to Release Immigrants
The New York Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, claiming ICE rigged its software to migrants behind bars longer than ordinarily allowed. The class action, filed by the NYCLU alongside Bronx Defenders, centers on ICE’s Risk Classification Assessment system. The RCA software, writes Gizmodo, uses algorithms to determine…
Daily Mail: New York ICE officials accused of rigging algorithms to illegally detain immigrants in detention centers
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) began using an algorithm in 2013 that recommends or denies the release of those arrested for immigration violations –and a new lawsuit claims the technology is rigged. Filed by the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) and Bronx Defenders, the allegations say ICE officials in New York City tampered with the software to eliminate the…
Fudzilla: US Immigration and Customs Enforcement uses a rigged algorithm
A lawsuit filed by the New York Civil Liberties Union and Bronx Defenders alleges that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement uses a rigged algorithm to detain virtually everyone ICEs New York Field Office brings in, even when the government itself believes they present a minimal threat to public safety. According to The Intercept the suit asks that ICE’s…
Latino USA: Lawsuit Accuses ICE of Illegal Detention Before Hearings
A new class-action lawsuit accuses U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) of keeping nearly all arrested immigrants locked up instead of releasing them to wait for their court dates. Bronx Defenders and the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) partnered on the lawsuit against the agency. ICE is legally mandated to evaluate cases individually and release people…
The Verge: ICE rigged its algorithms to keep immigrants in jail, claims lawsuit
A new lawsuit claims Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) rigged software to create a “secret no-release policy” for people suspected of breaking immigration laws. ICE’s New York office uses a risk assessment algorithm to recommend that an arrestee be released or detained until a hearing. But the New York Civil Liberties Union and Bronx Defenders say the…
The Intercept: ICE’s New York Office Uses A Rigged Algorithm To Keep Virtually All Arrestees In Detention. The ACLU Says It’s Unconstitutional
IN 2013, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement quietly began using a software tool to recommend whether people arrested over immigration violations should be let go after 48 hours or detained. The software’s algorithm supposedly pored over a variety of risk factors before outputting a decision. A new lawsuit, however, filed by the New York Civil Liberties…
Buzzfeed: The Trump Administration Now Jails Nearly Every Immigrant It Arrests In New York – Including Those Who Don’t Pose A Threat, A New Lawsuit Alleges
This has had a massive effect in New York, the lawsuit alleges: In the four years prior to the algorithm change, about half of immigrants arrested in New York who were regarded as low risk were released until their trial. Now 96% of them are held in jail for as long as three months, the…
Sophia Gurulé Presented City Council Testimony re: Oversight – ICE’s Escalated Attacks on NYC Policies Protecting Immigrants
New York City Council Committee on Immigration and Committee on Hospitals Hearing re: Oversight – ICE’s Escalated Attacks on NYC Policies Protecting Immigrants February 28, 2020 Written Testimony of The Bronx Defenders By Sophia Gurulé, Policy Counsel, Immigration Practice Good afternoon Chairs Rivera and Menchaca, my name is Sophia Elena Gurulé and I am Policy…
Gothamist: Bronx Man In ICE Custody Fighting For Release After Cuomo Pardons His Robbery Conviction
A Bronx man who’s been in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody for two-and-a-half years may have a new chance at being reunited with his wife and toddler while he and his lawyers fight a deportation order against him. Ousman Darboe, a Fordham Heights resident who turns 26 this week, was pardoned for a third degree…