|
For Immediate Release |
Contact:
Jorge L. Baron, NWIRP, 206-957-8609 or jorge@nwirp.org |
Northwest Immigrant Rights Project & Partners File First Class-Action Lawsuit On Behalf of Immigrants with Mental Disabilities
The nation’s first class action lawsuit on behalf of immigrant detainees with severe mental disabilities – detainees who are left defenseless in a system they cannot comprehend -- was filed late Monday by a coalition of legal organizations including the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, Public Counsel, Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, the American Civil Liberties Union’s Immigrants Rights Project, the ACLU of San Diego & Imperial County, and Mental Health Advocacy Services.The suit asks a federal district court in Los Angeles to order the U.S. government to create a system for determining which non-citizens lack the mental competence to represent themselves and to appoint legal representation for those who are unable to defend themselves. Unlike the criminal court system – where appointed counsel is part of due process -- immigration courts and detention facilities have no safeguards for ensuring that the rights of people with serious mental disabilities are protected. Two plaintiffs in the suit were the subject of habeas petitions before federal courts in California last March.
“We have an egregiously flawed process that currently allows for people with severe mental disabilities to be forced to stand alone in court without any legal representation,” said Matt Adams, legal director of the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project. “We hope to be able to change this glaring breakdown in our justice system.”
“Our Constitution and our laws demand fair treatment for people with severe mental disabilities,” said Ahilan Arulanantham, director of immigrants’ rights and national security for the ACLU/SC. “If someone cannot understand the proceedings against them, due process requires that they be given a lawyer to help them.”
The six immigrants represented are from California and Washington, and all have been diagnosed with severe mental disabilities, such as schizophrenia and mental retardation. Several have been found incompetent to stand trial in other court proceedings.
One of them, Jose Antonio Franco-Gonzalez, was lost in detention facilities in California for nearly five years because of the government’s failure to account for his mental retardation. Another detainee named in the lawsuit, Ever Francisco Martinez-Rivas, is a 31-year-old lawful permanent resident who came to the U.S. at the age of nine. He has been diagnosed with schizophrenia so severe that he gets confused when given simple directions, and has been deemed “a gravely disabled person.” Despite this, the government intends to deport Mr. Martinez without giving him a lawyer and without having his mental state evaluated.
“This broken system unjustly ruins the lives of detainees and their families. Our country’s values demand that we provide fair treatment for detained immigrants with serious mental disabilities,” said Talia Inlender, staff attorney with Los Angeles-based Public Counsel.
The exact number of detainees with severe mental disabilities is unclear, but some reports estimate that at least two to five percent of the immigrants detained by immigration authorities nationwide – or 7,000 to 19,000 individuals – might have a serious mental disability.
“The problem worsens day by day as the detention centers swell with more detainees,” said Michael Steinberg, a partner of Sullivan & Cromwell. “Ignoring the needs of those suffering from mental illnesses only debases our system of justice.”
The widespread failure of the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice to implement such a system and provide court-appointed attorneys to those with serious disabilities was recently documented in a report jointly published by the ACLU and Human Rights Watch (see the report here).
The complaint can be found here.
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Northwest Immigrant Rights Project promotes justice for low-income immigrants by pursuing and defending their legal status. We focus on providing direct legal services, supported by our education and public policy work. NWIRP is the only entity in the list of “Free Legal Services” that is given to individuals placed in removal (aka deportation) proceedings in Washington State.
Northwest Immigrant Rights Project Press Releases:
- Federal Judge Grants Preliminary Approval of Settlement Agreement in National Class Action Lawsuit on Work Authorization for Asylum Seekers
- Vulnerable Immigrants in Deportation Proceedings Unable to Represent Themselves Must Get Counsel and a Hearing
- Northwest Immigrant Rights Project to Recognize Regional Leaders
- Class Action Lawsuit Forces Policy Change to Protect Detained Immigrants with Serious Mental Disabilities
- Agreement Reached in National Class Action Lawsuit on Work Authorization for Asylum Seekers
- UW Report: Collaboration between King County jails and ICE results in unfair and costly impact
- Widespread Abuse by U.S. Customs and Border Protection Documented in National Wave of Complaints
- Legal Groups to Announce Wave of Cases Highlighting Nationwide Abuses By U.S. Customs and Border Protection
- Granger Community Legal Workshop: Get Free Attorney Help With DREAMer Deferred Action Forms
- Seattle/Des Moines Community Legal Workshop: Get Free Attorney Help With DREAMer Deferred Action Forms
- NWIRP places two members on key Shriver Center Leadership Program
- Breaking News: Border Patrol Policy Change Important Victory for Border Communities
- Granger Community Legal Workshop: Talk to an Attorney About DREAMer Deferred Action
- Omak Community Legal Workshop: Talk to an Attorney About DREAMer Deferred Action
- Bellevue Community Legal Workshop: Talk to an Attorney About DREAMer Deferred Action
- Spokane Community Legal Workshop: Talk to an Attorney About DREAMer Deferred Action
- Yakima Community Legal Workshop: Talk to an Attorney About DREAMer Deferred Action
- Everett Community Legal Workshop: Talk to an Attorney About DREAMer Deferred Action
- Mattawa and Yakima Community Legal Workshops: Talk to an Attorney About DREAMer Deferred Action
- Olympia/Lacey Community Legal Workshop: Talk to an Attorney About DREAMer Deferred Action
- NWIRP Presents: An Evening at Wing Luke Celebrating 28 Years of Reuniting Families
- Walla Walla Community Legal Workshop: Talk to an Attorney About DREAMer Deferred Action
- Pasco Community Legal Workshop: Talk to an Attorney About DREAMer Deferred Action
- Seattle/Des Moines Community Legal Workshop: Talk to an Attorney About DREAMer Deferred Action
- Wenatchee Community Workshop: Talk to an Attorney About DREAMer Deferred Action
- 10 Members of Congress Join Northern Borders Coalition Demand for Civil Rights Audit of Border Patrol
- Federal Judge Rules that Lawsuit Against Border Patrol Actions on Olympic Peninsula May Move Forward
- Granger Community Workshop: Do you qualify for DREAMer Deferred Action?
- Tacoma Community Workshop – Do you qualify for DREAMer Deferred Action?
- Wednesday: Press Conference - The DREAMer Deferred Action Program Unveiled
- Immigrant Rights and Civil Rights Leaders React to SB1070 Decision and Announce Renewed Efforts to Fight
- Federal Agency Rules Against Use of Border Patrol Agents as Interpreters
- Northwest Immigrant Rights Project Presents: 28th Anniversary Celebration
- NWIRP Challenges Local Law Enforcement Use of U.S. Border Patrol Agents as “Interpreters”
- Lawsuit Challenges Unconstitutional Stops and Interrogations by Border Patrol Agents on Olympic Peninsula
- Federal Judge Certifies Class Action Asserting Right to Counsel for Immigrant Detainees with Mental Disabilities
- Northwest Immigrant Rights Project & Partners Target “Asylum Clock” in Class Action Lawsuit
- Northwest Immigrant Rights Project Presents: An Evening at Wing Luke, Celebrating 27 Years of Reuniting Families
- Minor Changes to "Secure Communities" Do Not Address Inherent Problems with the Program
- Man Nearly Deported Awaiting Asylum Decision for Sixteen Years
- Northwest Immigrant Rights Project Celebrates 27 Years of Service to Washington State Immigrants and Refugees
- DHS Agrees to Pay $400,000 to U.S. Citizen, Army Veteran, Unlawfully Detained by Immigration for Over Seven Months
- Federal Court Rules in Favor of NWIRP Client, Reaffirms Protections for Immigrant Survivors of Domestic Violence
- Immigrants Win Right to Representation
- Northwest Immigrant Rights Project & Center for Justice Achieve Settlement in Case of Immigrant Detained Unlawfully
- Northwest Immigrant Rights Project & Partners File First Class-Action Lawsuit On Behalf of Immigrants with Mental Disabilities
- United States v. Arizona racial profiling law
- Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, Legal Voice, Latina/o Bar Association of Washington, National Employment Law Project and ACLU of Washington Unite to Praise Washington Supreme Court Decision Protecting the Integrity of the Court System
- NWIRP to receive national recognition
- NWIRP to Celebrate 25 Years of Serving Immigrant Communities
- NWIRP E.D. Jorge Baron on KUOW 94.9
- NWIRP Wins "Moving Mountains" award from Office of Crime Victims Advocacy
- NWIRP wins City of Seattle Human Rights Award
- Federal Appeals Court Rules For Jamaican Gay Man and NWIRP Client, Finds “Pattern or Practice” of Persecution Against Gay Jamaican Men
- Settlement Reached in Lawsuit Challenging Unreasonable Delays Granting Citizenship
- U.S. Citizen and Army Veteran Spends Nine Months In Detention While U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Denies Detaining Citizens
- NWIRP Expresses Its Opposition to Planned Expansion of DHS Detention Center
- Matt Adams Wins National Excellence in Litigation Award