A federal judge has ordered the Department of Homeland Security to give immigrants detained in Minnesota immediate access to lawyers before they are transferred out of state. U.S. District Judge Nancy Brasel issued an emergency restraining order on Thursday, finding that detainees at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building faced such significant barriers to contacting legal counsel that their constitutional rights had likely been violated.
In her 41-page ruling, Judge Brasel wrote that in planning Operation Metro Surge, the government had failed to plan for the constitutional rights of civil detainees. She rejected arguments from DHS attorneys that suggested changes to improve access would lead to chaos, stating: 'The Constitution does not permit the government to arrest thousands of individuals and then disregard their constitutional rights because it would be too challenging to honour those rights.'
The temporary order, which will last for two weeks unless extended, directs the government to ensure every non-citizen held at Whipple can contact an attorney within one hour of detention and before any out-of-state transfer. It also requires that detainees be given an accurate list of legal service providers, free private telephone access, and no limits on calls to their lawyers. Attorneys must be allowed to visit clients in a private room seven days a week, and detainees cannot be transferred out of state for the first 72 hours of their detention. DHS must also inform detainees of their transfer destination and provide telephone access until they reach an attorney or family.
The ruling follows a lawsuit filed by The Advocates for Human Rights and a detainee, who argued that people held at the facility on the outskirts of Minneapolis were denied adequate access to lawyers while facing deportation. Judge Brasel cited evidence showing detainees are moved quickly, frequently, and without notice, leaving attorneys unable to locate clients. She noted that the online system for finding detainees is not always updated accurately, that detainees are often offered a single monitored phone call, and that some are pressured to sign voluntary deportation agreements without speaking to counsel.
Department of Homeland Security officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Justice Department attorney Christina Parascandola had told the court that detainees have access to counsel and unmonitored phone calls at any time, though she conceded she had never entered the Whipple facility. Skye Perryman, president of Democracy Forward, part of the plaintiffs' legal team, said the court had made clear that the administration's approach to immigration enforcement is unlawful and that access to a lawyer is a fundamental right.
