FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contacts:
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 410-576-7009
BALTIMORE, MD – 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 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 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. For
more information on the Attorney General’s efforts go to: Federal Actions Response.
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