Attorney General Anthony G. Brown filed an amicus brief supporting a lawsuit that challenges the conditions of civil immigrant detainees at the Baltimore Immigration Court, alleging violations of basic rights and calling for a limit on detention time in temporary holding cells.
Per the news release distributed on Wednesday, June 18: “Attorney General Anthony G. Brown today filed an amicus brief to protect the rights of civil immigrant detainees to safe, decent, and humane detention conditions. The brief was filed in D.N.N. and V.R.G. v. Nikita Baker (Field Office Director for ICE) in the District Court of Maryland, a lawsuit that seeks to address the conditions in which civil immigrant detainees are being held at the Baltimore Immigration Court.
The lawsuit alleges that immigrants are being held for up to seven days in temporary holding cells at the Baltimore Immigration Court without necessary medical care, adequate nutrition and water, sanitation, sleeping facilities, or access to their lawyers.
“No individual should be subjected to conditions that deny them basic human dignity — including access to essential medical care, adequate food and water, proper sanitation, and the ability to communicate with legal counsel,” said Attorney General Brown. “We urge the court to uphold the fundamental rights of those detained at the Baltimore Immigration Court and to ensure they are treated with the respect and humanity that every person deserves, regardless of immigration status.”
Declarations filed by the immigrant plaintiffs describe being denied basic medical care, including medications to treat diabetes, thyroid disease, and HIV. Detainees are forced to sleep on the floor without bedding, and in some cases, in rooms so crowded that there is insufficient floor space for all detainees to lie down. The lights in the cells are on 24 hours per day, and the common toilet is in a public space with no privacy. Detainees are provided with inadequate food and water, with a meal often consisting of only a cup of soup or a portion of beans. They are also unable to make confidential calls to their lawyers. This treatment of detainees violates the Constitution and ICE’s own policy.
The brief was filed in support of the plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction. The requested injunction would prohibit the detention of any individual in the holding cells for more than 12 hours. The brief argues that the conduct of ICE violates public policy.
More than one million Marylanders are immigrants. The Attorney General is fighting to ensure that the rights of the immigrant community—and the rights of all Marylanders—are protected.