“As you know the right to due process and the right to counsel are foundational constitutional guarantees enshrined in the Fifth and Sixth Amendments,” the senators wrote. “ICE and all other federal law enforcement agencies are required to honor these constitutional rights, regardless of a person’s immigration status.”
A Minneapolis-based human rights organization has filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security, claiming that its agents illegally and systematically prevent detained immigrants from meeting with their legal counsel.
According to The Minnesota Reformer, the proposed class-action lawsuit was filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota. It was filed on behalf of Advocates for Human Rights and a St. Paul-area woman identified only by the initials “L.H.M.”
The lawsuit claims that L.H.M., who has lived in Minnesota since 2019 and has a pending asylum claim, was arrested Monday after attending a routine check-in at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Office of Intensive Supervision in Bloomington.
L.H.M. was able to tell her family that she had been detained; her lawyer purportedly traveled to the Bishop Whipple Federal Building, but was refused authorization to meet her client. Federal agents purportedly told lawyers gathered outside that “no visitation between detainees and attorneys is or has ever been permitted at Whipple.”
“This is false,” the lawsuit alleges. “Whipple has rooms labeled ‘ERO Visitation,’ where attorneys have met with clients held at Whipple for years.”
Under the current administration, though, lawyers reportedly struggle to contact clients held at Whipple, with phone calls and emails largely going unanswered.
Last week, Minnesota Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith wrote a letter to ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons, sharing concerns that detainees—including at least one U.S. citizen—were being held without access to legal counsel.
“As you know the right to due process and the right to counsel are foundational constitutional guarantees enshrined in the Fifth and Sixth Amendments,” the senators wrote. “ICE and all other federal law enforcement agencies are required to honor these constitutional rights, regardless of a person’s immigration status.”
The lawsuit notes that L.H.M. recently underwent cranial surgery and has “significant medical needs that may be severely adversely affected by detention conditions or involuntary transfer out of state.”
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has since attempted to clarify its position on visitation at Whipple, telling WCCO that allegations like L.H.M.’s are categorically false.
“Any allegations people detained by ICE do not have access to attorneys are FALSE,” the agency said in a statement to WCCO. “Illegal aliens in the Whipple Federal Building have access to phones they can use to contact their families and lawyers. Additionally, ICE gives all illegal aliens arrested a court-approved list of free or low-cost attorneys. All detainees receive full due process. Any rioters arrested outside the Whipple Federal Building also have access to attorneys.”
Sources
Detainees at Whipple federal building in Minneapolis have been denied access to lawyer, suit says
Lawsuit: DHS blocking lawyers from meeting with detainees
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