• Litigation

Systemic Challenge to Policies at Artesia

M.S.P.C. v. Johnson, No. 1:14-cv-01437-ABJ (D.D.C. voluntarily dismissed Jan. 30, 2015)

STATUS:
Closed

The American Immigration Council, in collaboration with the American Civil Liberties Union, the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild, the National Immigration Law Center, Van Der Hout Brigagliano & Nightingale LLP, and Jenner & Block, filed this lawsuit in the federal district court for the District of Columbia.  The case was a systemic challenge to the policies denying a fair deportation process to mothers and children detained in the Artesia Family Residential Center who had fled extreme violence, death threats, rape, and persecution in Central America and come to the United States seeking safety.

According to the complaint, the Obama administration violated long-established constitutional and statutory law by enacting policies that:

  • Categorically prejudged asylum cases with a "detain-and-deport" policy, regardless of individual circumstances.
  • Drastically restricted communication with the outside world for the women and children held at the remote detention center, including communication with attorneys.
  • Gave virtually no notice to detainees of critically important interviews used to determine the outcome of asylum requests.
  • Led to the intimidation and coercion of the women and children by immigration officers.

Follow this case:

    • Declaration

    Declaration from Stephanie Izaguirre

    When [my client] discussed her fear of gangs in El Salvador, the asylum officer seemed impatient and began to rush through the interview… Every woman I met was forced to care for her children and discuss her case simultaneously.… Mothers were forced to recount very traumatic and upsetting details of rape, violence and kidnapping in the presence of their young children.

    • Declaration

    Declaration from Phillip Smith

    Each and every applicant that I met with or represented during an official proceeding with an Immigration Judge or asylum officer had a child or children with them at the time, often in their laps. Many of the children were sick, and the mothers were often required to recount gruesome acts of violence, sometimes rape, while holding or trying to care for their children.
    • Declaration

    Declaration from Sarah Perez

    In every case I reviewed where the detainee requested to speak with an attorney, the asylum officer merely asked, "Do you want to continue or not?" In none of the interview summaries I reviewed did the asylum officer state that the person could postpone the interview in order to obtain legal representation….--The women reported to me that they were subject to various types of abuse.

    • Declaration

    Declaration from Kim Hunter

    [T]he credible fear interview I attended was conducted like an affirmative asylum interview, rather than a credible fear interview. Based upon over 13 years of experience with the asylum process, I believe my client established her credible fear within the first 45 minutes of a more than three­ hour interview.
    • Declaration

    Declaration from Shelley Wittevrongel

    I told the ICE officer I wanted to speak to the supervisor-in-charge . . .
    • Declaration

    Declaration from Julia Baker

    In one case, the asylum officer made a negative credible fear finding where a woman claimed that the man who murdered the father of her [children] had threatened to murder her children. The woman did not reveal all the details of the threats because the boys were in the room with her at the time.
    • Declaration

    Declaration from Andrea Guttin

      • Declaration

      Declaration from Christina Brown

      [M]any women reported to me that they had very limited access to telephones. They had to wait in long lines to make calls, and their calls were limited to three minutes. They reported they were forced to clean in order to “earn” their phone calls. Some women told me that they were denied calls when the ICE officers were upset with them.
      • Declaration

      Declaration from Christina Rosado-Maher

      While I was meeting with my client, there was an ICE officer present in the room the entire time. I was not able to meet with my client in a confidential place.…. --I observed an attitude among the ICE officers that reflected a belief that none of the detainees had viable legal claims, and that all of them would be detained for a relatively brief period, and then removed.

      • Declaration

      Declaration from Heather Majam

      Despite the fact that many children have chronic diarrhea and fevers, the mothers I met with consistently told me that the medical clinic at FLETC would only tell the mothers to give their children water to help them get well.
      • Declaration

      Declaration from Lynly S. Egyes

      The children and babies also did not have adequate clothing. I saw multiple babies and toddlers without any type of blankets, shivering while their mothers held them close to their bodies for warmth. The mothers used tiny washcloths as makeshift blankets.
      • Declaration

      Declaration from Elizabeth Ferrell

      [An ICE Supervisor] told me it was his job to “move these people through here.” When I tried again to explain that my client had a positive credible fear finding, he said that did not matter because he has seen immigration judges reverse such findings. I asked whether he would consider bond for anyone, and he said no.
      • Declaration

      Declaration from Arlene Rivera

      The attorney desks were located about 10-15 feet away from the ICE officers and so could easily be overheard by them. ICE officers approached us every hour, even during client meetings, to conduct head counts.
      • Declaration

      Declaration from Jennifer Smith

      We were unable to speak directly to detainees who had not requested to speak with us and/or whose names we did not have already because ICE did not want us "soliciting" clients. We explained that we were volunteers and that we were not charging for our services, but we were still not allowed to speak to anyone not on our list.
      • Declaration

      Declaration from Bryan Johnson

      I have been able to speak with [my client] only sporadically because the ICE officers at the Artesia facility do not permit her to use a phone at any set times, and when she is given access, permit her to remain on the phone only for short periods of time. During my first phone call with [my client] . . .
      • Declaration

      Declaration from Daniel Rodgers

      I am 62 years old. When I left Artesia and was driving to the airport to fly back to Alaska, I started crying in the car. I do not recall the last time I cried.--Visiting Artesia was a discouraging and depressing experience because my government is crushing the [spirits] of brave women and their children through a combination of denial of due process and stressful living conditions.

      • Declaration

      Declaration from Elaine J. Cintron

      My client and I had no privacy while we worked on her declaration. ICE officials were constantly walking around us. We could hear children crying. We also heard an ICE officer reprimanding a mother because her child was too loud. There were so many distractions that I cannot be certain I heard my client’s whole story….

      • Declaration

      Declaration from Laura Lichter

      What was particularly troubling regarding the legal process was that, other than a handful of attorneys, there were no legal resources to help these women and children through what is an incredibly challenging process.

      • Declaration

      Declaration from Paromita Shah

      The court had not posted any information about the Artesia docket. The courtrooms were locked. Judge Hladylowycz was holding master calendar hearings and bond hearings. After watching those hearings, I asked Judge Hladylowycz if I could attend the review of negative credible fear hearings. Judy Hladylowycz told me that those proceedings were now closed.
      • Practice Advisories

      Arriving Noncitizens and Adjustment of Status

      Publication Date: 
      April 25, 2022
      This practice advisory identifies who falls under the classification of “arriving noncitizens,” discusses the regulations delineating USCIS vs. EOIR jurisdiction over adjustment applications of arriving noncitizens in removal proceedings and suggests strategies to facilitate the adjustment of status of eligible parolees in removal proceedings before they are removed.
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      Dent v. Holder and Strategies for Obtaining Documents During Removal Proceedings

      Publication Date: 
      June 12, 2012
      This Practice Advisory discusses Dent v. Holder, requiring the government to turn over copies of documents in an A-file where removability is contested, and offers strategies for making document requests pursuant to the INA and due process.
      • Practice Advisories

      Arriving Noncitizens and Adjustment of Status

      Publication Date: 
      April 25, 2022
      This practice advisory identifies who falls under the classification of “arriving noncitizens,” discusses the regulations delineating USCIS vs. EOIR jurisdiction over adjustment applications of arriving noncitizens in removal proceedings and suggests strategies to facilitate the adjustment of status of eligible parolees in removal proceedings before they are removed.
      • Practice Advisories

      Dent v. Holder and Strategies for Obtaining Documents During Removal Proceedings

      Publication Date: 
      June 12, 2012
      This Practice Advisory discusses Dent v. Holder, requiring the government to turn over copies of documents in an A-file where removability is contested, and offers strategies for making document requests pursuant to the INA and due process.
      • FOIA

      Criminal Alien Program (CAP) FOIA Documents

      American Immigration Council and AILA’s Connecticut chapter initially sought records related to CAP through a FOIA request to ICE in December 2011. When ICE refused to release records responsive to the request, Plaintiffs filed suit under FOIA for declaratory and injunctive relief to compel the disclosure and release of agency records improperly withheld by DHS and its component ICE
      • FOIA

      Artesia FOIA

      On August 22, 2014, the American Immigration Council, in collaboration with the American Civil Liberties Union, the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild, the National Immigration Law Center, Van Der Hout Brigagliano & Nightingale LLP, and Jenner & Block, filed this lawsuit in the federal district court for the District of Columbia. The case was a systemic challenge to the policies denying a fair deportation process to mothers and children detained in the Artesia Family Residential Center who had fled extreme violence, death threats, rape, and persecution in Central America and come to the United States seeking safety.
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    The Failings of Family Detention at Artesia

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