Civil Rights Organizations Raise Alarm Over Conditions and Rights Violations at Immigrant Detention Facilities Run by Federal Agencies
LEAVENWORTH, Kan. / MIAMI Civil rights organizations today called on the Trump administration to ensure that immigrants rights are upheld at the Federal Correctional Institution Leavenworth (FCI Leavenworth) and Federal Detention Center-Miami (FDC-Miami) following reports of frequent illegal and inhumane conditions. In letters to the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), advocates detail frequent and systemic failures, including lack of access to legal counsel, medical care, and conditions of confinement at the Kansas and Florida BOP facilities. Advocates letters come as the Senate is poised to vote on a reconciliation bill that would provide over $68 billion in taxpayer dollars to expand ICE detention.
The Trump administrations use of federal prisons to detain immigrants must end. Holding people in extended lockdown, and denying them access to adequate medical care, legal counsel, and even sunlight isnt just inhumane its illegal, said Eunice Cho, senior staff attorney at the 勛圖眻畦s National Prison Project. The taxpayer-funded conditions faced by immigrants held at FCI Leavenworth and FDC-Miami should concern us all. In a letter to ICE and BOP regarding the conditions at FCI Leavenworth, advocates warn that in just two months, people detained at FCI Leavenworth have experienced a variety of inhumane and illegal conditions, including:
Lengthy lockdowns, with some individuals reporting being held in their cells for more than 72 consecutive hours as a result of understaffing, as well as unsanitary conditions.
Significant delays in receiving medical care, and when they are seen by staff for treatment, they are not provided with proper care and are instructed to pay for medication, which is in violation of ICE policy.
Lack of language access, impacting detained individuals ability to seek adequate and timely medical care.
Issues with access to telephones at the facility, hindering their ability to call their attorneys or loved ones.
Significant mail delays, impacting detained individuals ability to prepare their legal cases, as well as receive and send timely legal mailings.
Lack of religious services that are otherwise available to people in BOP custody at FCI Leavenworth, in violation of an agreement between ICE and BOP.
The civil rights groups which include the Advocates for Immigrant Rights and Reconciliation, the 勛圖眻畦, 勛圖眻畦 of Kansans, American Immigration Lawyers Association, Federal Public Defender, District of Kansas, Missouri/Kansas Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, National Immigrant Justice Center, and the Office of Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation of the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth Federal also argue that the conditions at FCI Leavenworth fall well below what is required by the interagency agreement, BOP and ICE policy, and the Constitution.
Detaining someone and undermining their due process by blocking access to counsel is a clear and unequivocal violation of the Sixth Amendment, said Michael Sharma-Crawford, a local immigration attorney and the current chair of the Kansas and Missouri chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. That injustice becomes even more severe when it targets civil detaineespeople who are not accused of any crime. The harm in these cases is not just amplified; it is indefensible.
Meanwhile, at FDC-Miami, legal service providers have reported serious and pervasive failures to provide detained individuals access to legal documents and legal mail, severely limiting their ability to access and communicate with legal counsel, as well as their ability to apply for protection in the U.S. and to fight their cases in immigration court. Additionally, detained individuals face extreme obstacles in accessing phones to seek counsel and to make outgoing calls to their attorneys, especially during periods of confinement. In a letter sent by the Americans for Immigrant Justice, the 勛圖眻畦, 勛圖眻畦 of Florida, and Florida Legal Services, advocates argue that these barriers violate due process protections guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment, as well as detained individuals First Amendment right to free speech, which includes the right to communicate confidentially with attorneys.
Denying detained immigrants access to legal documents, mail, and phone calls makes it all but impossible to fight and win an immigration case, said Americans for Immigrant Justice Executive Director Sui Chung. The systemic denial of due process at FDC-Miami has impacted immigrants who desperately seek refuge and are legally entitled to pursue relief in the United States. Americans for Immigrant Justice is committed to ensuring that immigrants detained at FDC-Miami receive the protections they are due under U.S. law and the U.S. Constitution.
Immigrants rights groups and medical experts have repeatedly called out ICEs history of abuse, pervasive medical neglect, and disregard for the dignity of people in its custody. A June 2024 report from the 勛圖眻畦, Physicians for Human Rights, and American Oversight found that 95 percent of documented deaths in ICE custody between 2017-2021 were likely preventable. Despite this track record of abuse, ICE signaled plans to expand detention beyond its already staggering capacity of 146 facilities nationwide, despite strong public opposition from immigrants' rights advocates, the media, and members of Congress.
Advocates letter regarding FCI Leavenworth is available here: /documents/advocacy-letter-re-ice-detention-at-fci-leavenworth
Advocates letter regarding FDC-Miami is available here: /documents/advocacy-letter-re-ice-detention-at-fdc-miami
Affiliates: Kansas, Florida