A district judge ordered the Trump administration not to deport two Maryland moms recently detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The women are part of a class action lawsuit just filed by several immigrant advocacy groups, who say the women were held longer than allowed in Baltimore holding cells under what they called “inhumane conditions.”
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WATCH HEREThe women both have lived in Maryland for over a decade. One is from El Salvador; the other is from Guatemala. Both have some children who were born in the U.S. The mothers were granted relief from deportation and were required to check in with ICE. They both were detained during one of those check-ins.
The Amica Center for Immigrant Rights filed a lawsuit on behalf of the women not because they were detained but because of the alleged conditions they described inside the Baltimore ICE field office.
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SIGN UP The News4 I-Team recently got a look at the office. It’s set up for temporary holding, meaning according to ICE rules, detainees are not supposed to be held there for more than 12 hours, according to the class action lawsuit.
The Amica Center has maintained people have been held there beyond the 12-hour mark, saying in some cases people were held there for more than a week.
“This case, this class action, is about ICE's repeated insistence on holding, on detaining people for no reason and holding them in cells for multiple days without proper medical care, as happened to both of these people – without proper food and water, without the ability to sleep, without the able to contact their family members,” attorney Austin Rose said outside a Baltimore courthouse Wednesday. “This is a major problem that we're trying to address. These are the two plaintiffs who have bravely decided to represent the class and litigate this case.”
In Maryland, there is no ICE detention center, so people are sent outside the state. Looking for places to put people sometimes means they’re held longer than 12 hours, former ICE director in Maryland Matt Elliston said when News4 interviewed him a few months ago.
“Twelve hours is a goal for us. We had a policy that's since been waived. So, we're still applying all applicable laws and standards. People are getting health care, they're getting food. They're getting all the things they need to get,” Elliston said. “The only thing – we’re trying to get them out as quickly as possible so they can be in a more appropriate detention setting. But what we're doing here doesn't violate any of our policies.”
The lawsuit alleges one of the women was held for 60 hours and the other was held for 36 hours. One has since been moved to New Jersey; the other was moved to Arizona and now Colorado. In court in Baltimore, the judge addressed their location. The U.S. questioned whether the case belongs in Maryland. The judge said she does have jurisdiction.
The women are expected to be held in the U.S., per the judge’s orders. She made it clear this is not an order that will impact all other immigration cases happening in the country, but only this case.
The I-Team reached out to ICE and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
A DHS official said: "ICE takes its commitment to promoting safe, secure, humane environments for those in our custody very seriously. It is a longstanding practice to provide comprehensive medical care. […] This includes medical, dental, and mental health intake screening within 12 hours of arriving […] a full health assessment within 14 days […] and access to medical appointments and 24-hour emergency care.”
