Federal Judiciary Issues Groundbreaking Order Guaranteeing Lawyers and Due Process for Immigrants Detained at Angola

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media contact: Jesse Vad, [email protected]

BATON ROUGE – In a landmark standing order that fundamentally reshapes the rights of immigrants detained at Angola's Camp 57, Chief Judge Shelly D. Dick of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana, yesterday, issued a standing order providing for appointed counsel and other constitutional protections for immigrants detained at Angola’s Camp 57 and throughout the district who file habeas corpus petitions.

The order, effective immediately, appoints the Federal Public Defender for the Middle District of Louisiana to represent detained immigrants who are unrepresented and cannot afford attorneys, prohibits ICE from transferring detainees out of the district during legal proceedings, and establishes an expedited 14-day timeline for the government to respond to habeas petitions. The order also requires the government to file, “the petitioners complete A-File, all written transcripts of immigration court proceedings, and all written evidence of a deportation plan or procurement of travel document.”

“This is a major step in the right direction,” said Nora Ahmed, legal director at the ACLU of Louisiana. “This order dismantles ICE’s go-to strategy: disappearing people to Angola, denying them lawyers, obstructing access to critical documents that are often dispositive to someone’s habeas case, and deporting them before they can fight back in court. Now every detained immigrant in Angola filing a habeas petition should be able to get an attorney, stay put during their case, and get a fast answer from the government that will clearly speak to whether their habeas should be granted."

The order appoints the Federal Public Defender's office to assist unrepresented detained immigrants who cannot afford representation, and requires ICE to hand over necessary documents dispositive to a habeas case without unnecessary motion practice that can serve to delay adjudication of someone’s liberty

The order importantly prohibits ICE from transferring detained immigrants out of their current facility or removing them from the Middle District of Louisiana during habeas proceedings, a practice ICE has routinely used to skirt legal challenges by deporting people before courts can rule.

The order also requires ICE to provide 24 hours advance written notice before releasing any detainee from custody, preventing sudden deportations that deny people their day in court.

Advocates working in the immigration space in Louisiana have consistently documented and flagged violations of due process and lack of access to counsel over the years. The ACLU of Louisiana recently launched Justice Lab: Immigration, mobilizing volunteer attorneys to file habeas petitions for detained immigrants. This order serves to operate in parallel with the project to build more pathways to representation and release of those who have been wrongfully detained.

The order is binding on all government respondents including the U.S. Attorney General, the Department of Homeland Security, ICE's Office of General Counsel, and the Warden of Angola Camp 57.

The standing order takes effect immediately and applies to all pending and future habeas cases filed by immigrants detained in the Middle District of Louisiana.