Immigrant rights activists are fighting back against a new Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) policy that prevents all undocumented detainees from being released on bail before their trial. In a class action lawsuit filed July 28, attorneys will argue that it violates due process to make people ineligible to receive a bond hearing from an immigration judge.
ICE rolled out the policy change July 8. The agency is drastically reinterpreting the Immigration and Nationality Act, which only mandates pre-trial detention for undocumented detainees who have certain criminal records and are being considered for expedited deportation. Now, everyone undocumented will be processed this way, regardless of their background or how long they’ve lived in the United States. Only the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) can issue exemptions.
Counsel for Bautista, et al v. Noem includes attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union, the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California and the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project. The case was filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of California on behalf of four people alleging wrongful detention in an ICE facility in California. On July 28, the district court ruled those plaintiffs must be granted a bond hearing within seven days. The class action lawsuit filed the same day amends the existing challenge, expanding representation to “others similarly situated.”
If a judge grants class certification, anyone in the US who is subject to the new removal process would retain the right to a bond hearing.
“It doesn’t mean everyone will be released,” Matt Adams, legal director for the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project and one of the attorneys on the lawsuit, told Filter. “This seeks to have the opportunity to at least have your facts considered by DHS and an immigration judge.”
Lawyers are pushing to expedite the case, with the hope of getting at least an initial ruling from the district court within two to four months.
The four plaintiffs who brought the initial case are all longtime undocumented residents currently being detained in the Adelanto ICE Processing Center in Southern California.
“Normally what happens [is] DHS first looks at the individual’s record,” Adams said. “Sees if they have a criminal record, if they have ties to this country and how long they have been living here … they decide if that person is a flight risk or danger. If they’re not, that person is released and can go through the removal proceedings while still at home with their families and maintaining their job.”
Prior to the new policy, detainees remanded to custody still had the right to go before an immigration judge and ask to be released on bond.
Adams described conditions in ICE detention centers as “abhorrent,” noting that there is insufficient food and medical care. Detainees are caged inside 24/7, with no access to fresh air. He said that he and his colleagues will push to expedite the case, with the hope of getting at least an initial ruling from the district court within two to four months. They expect resistance from President Donald Trump, as ICE—now the top-funded federal agency—extends its reach and detention compounds like “Alligator Alcatraz” are constructed across the country.
“The administration is trying to create an immigration process that is so hostile it serves as a deterrent to individuals living here standing up and asserting their rights,” Adams said. “Even these individuals who have valid claims often give up when they’re forced to spend six, 10, 12 months in these detention facilities [and] don’t even know how long these proceedings are going to take … it’s very common our clients reach a point where they say, ‘I can’t take this anymore, go ahead and deport me, I can’t be here another day.’”
Image (cropped) via Office of Inspector General
