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U.S. NEWS Wednesday 11 december 2019

Immigrant advocates sue U.S. over yanked detention hotline

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Immi- senting the group. “And to call for free, enabling facilities across the country detainees with loved ones
grant advocates sued the they can’t shut down the the group — which also — to monitor custody con- separated at the border,
Trump administration Tues- hotline because they want runs visitation programs at ditions and help reconnect the lawsuit said.q
day for ending a free hot- to prevent Freedom for Im-
line that allowed detained migrants from saying it.”
immigrants to report con- Immigration and Customs
cerns about custody con- Enforcement declined to
ditions after it was featured comment on the lawsuit
on the show “Orange Is the but said the hotline was re-
New Black.” moved last year from a list
The nonprofit group Free- of pro bono legal service
dom for Immigrants, which providers that immigrants
has run the hotline since can call for free.
2013 with a free phone line At the time, the agency
provided by U.S. Immigra- notified the group that it
tion and Customs Enforce- had been misusing the hot-
ment, sued in federal court line, said Bryan Cox, an ICE
in Los Angeles. spokesman.
The lawsuit alleged that The line was not monitored
the administration yanked or recorded so immigrants
the hotline in August after it could find and speak with
was featured on the Netflix lawyers, but the group was
show, which drew atten- using it for three-way call-
tion to the group’s criticism ing to connect detainees
of detention conditions for to family, Cox said.
immigrants. The agency had provided
“They cannot shut down the hotline after a request
this hotline in retaliation from the nonprofit and
for the fact they don’t like a group of volunteers in
what Freedom for Immi- Florida who had visited de-
grants is saying,” said Moez tained immigrants.
Kaba, a partner at Hueston Immigrants in detention
Hennigan, which is repre- centers were then allowed

In this Sept. 26, 2019 file photo, detainees sit in a yard during a
media tour inside the Winn Correctional Center in Winnfield, La.
Associated Press