Claims of ICE blocking immigration attorneys follows DHS playbook

Lawsuit claims DHS blocking immigration attorneys

A class action lawsuit filed this week accuses ICE and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) of denying detainees access to immigration attorneys before being quickly moved out of state. FOX 9’s Paul Blume investigates.

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The Advocates for Human Rights filed a class action lawsuit this week on behalf of detained immigrants who have been unable to speak to their immigration attorneys while being held at the Whipple Federal Building.

ICE agents ignoring attorneys

What we know:

ICE agents are refusing to let detainees call their immigration attorneys, ignore phone calls and emails, and have even threatened attorneys who have tried to enter the building to speak to their clients, according to the lawsuit.

"When a lawyer attempted to visit a client, he was confronted by six armed security personnel, one of whom said, "We’re not having a debate here, turn your car around and get the hell out of here," the lawsuit stated.

Access to immigration attorneys is vital during surge

Big picture view:

Access to immigration attorneys is key for detainees who may have some level of legal status.

ICE agents are regularly picking up refugees and asylum seekers who legal experts say should be shielded from deportation proceedings until their cases are resolved.

However, many of those detainees are being moved out of state before they can speak to an attorney, making it harder for them to find the necessary legal help.

Once detainees are moved to detention centers in Texas or other states, they are often pressured to "abandon those rights by signing voluntary departure forms" or what the Trump Administration has called "self-deportation."

Detainees quickly moved out of state, slowly returned

By the numbers:

The FOX 9 Investigators found detainees were being moved out of state in a matter of hours.

"If they get picked up today, there's a chance that they could be gone by dinner time. That's how quickly some people are being moved," immigration attorney David Wilson told FOX 9. "If they're [at Whipple], they're only there for an hour, then they're immediately on a plane to El Paso or somewhere else."

This has led to a flood of habeas petitions from people challenging their detention and scathing judicial orders requiring DHS to return the immigrants to Minnesota.

While it only takes hours for ICE agents to relocate someone from Minnesota, it is taking a lot longer to bring them back, leading to repeated violations of court orders.

The other side:

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has not responded to the lawsuit or requests for comment.

DHS has repeatedly blocked immigration attorneys under Trump administration

Dig deeper:

DHS also violated court orders during an immigration surge in California last year after immigration agents also restricted access to attorneys, according to court records reviewed by the FOX 9 Investigators.

Agents at a detention facility in Santa Ana regularly refused to grant detainees phone calls or access to private meeting rooms. Detainees were also moved to other detention centers without notice.

"It appears that this has hindered attorney-client visitation because, on a number of occasions, counsel could not find their clients," a federal judge wrote at the time. 

The judge ordered DHS to permit confidential attorney-client meetings seven days a week.

However, immigration agents continued to deny access, saying it was justified and necessary because of protests, similar to the ongoing demonstrations at the Whipple Federal Building in Bloomington.

DHS argued then that it was taking "prompt response action to preserve the safety of detainees and the public."

The judge rejected that notion and granted an injunction requiring the detention center to remain open.

What's next:

Despite those rulings, DHS is now accused of using the same playbook in Minnesota, according to the civil rights lawsuit filed this week.

"Defendants are following the same pattern here that they have followed in other American cities in recent months," it states.