NYIFUP Statement On Continued Air Conditioning Issues At Bergen County Jail Amid NYC Area Heat Wave

July 10, 2019

***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE***

NYIFUP STATEMENT ON CONTINUED AIR CONDITIONING ISSUES AT BERGEN COUNTY JAIL AMID NYC AREA HEAT WAVE

(NEW YORK, NY) – The Bronx Defenders, The Legal Aid Society, and Brooklyn Defender Services – New York City’s defender organizations providing free legal representation through the New York Immigrant Family Unity Project (NYIFUP) to detained immigrants with pending cases at the Varick Street Immigration Court – released the following joint statement today in response to the continued air conditioning issues plaguing immigrant clients and others at Bergen County Jail, New Jersey amid a local heat wave with temperatures rising to 90 degrees over the next several days:

“NYIFUP has heard multiple complaints about the lack of air conditioning in certain cell blocks at Bergen County Jail and the facility’s continued struggle to ensure that our clients are safe from rising temperatures and other health concerns. To make matters worse, we have yet to receive any further update from jail officials concerning HVAC system repairs or an updated restoration timeline. Given the jail’s troubling track record on health, humanitarian, and other issues, we fear for our clients – especially as temperatures rise over the next several days to record highs for this summer.”

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The New York Family Immigrant Unity Project (NYIFUP) is the nation’s first public defender system for immigrants facing deportation—defined as those in removal proceedings before an immigration judge. Funded by the New York City Council since July 2014, the program provides a free attorney to almost all detained indigent immigrants facing deportation at Varick Street Immigration