Harvard immigration clinic sues for records on ICE detention
Associated Press— A Harvard Law School clinic has sued federal immigration officials for failing to release records about the use of solitary confinement in immigration detention facilities. The Cambridge-based clinic said immigrant rights advocates have raised concerns over the use of solitary confinement on vulnerable immigrant populations, including LGBTQ individuals and people with disabilities. “It is essential that we obtain these records in order to ensure that DHS is not continuing past harmful practices.” The Harvard clinic says it submitted three Freedom of Information Act requests in 2017 specifically requesting information on the use of solitary on immigrants with disabilities, mental health concerns and other vulnerabilities. John Mohan, an ICE spokesperson for the New England region, said the agency doesn’t comment on pending litigation but said use of restrictive housing or segregation are “exceedingly rare, but at times necessary” when a detainee “becomes confrontational, destructive, or unsafe.” According to ICE guidelines, detainees can be segregated from the general population not just for disciplinary reasons but also for non-punitive, administrative reasons, including to protect a vulnerable detainee from harm when no other reasonable alternatives are available.
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