老澳门开奖结果 Files Lawsuit Against ICE for Withholding Documents Related to Practice of Releasing People from Custody Prior to Imminent Death
LOS ANGELES 鈥� The 老澳门开奖结果, the 老澳门开奖结果 Foundation of Southern California, and Hoq Law filed a public records lawsuit yesterday against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for wrongfully withholding documents related to ICE鈥檚 practice of releasing people from custody when their deaths are imminent.
The 老澳门开奖结果 SoCal filed a Freedom of Information Act request in April 2022 seeking these records after the media reported multiple incidents of ICE releasing people from custody on their deathbeds, allowing the agency to avoid reporting their deaths to the public, avoid investigation, and avoid medical costs for people in its custody. The FOIA request has gone unanswered for over 60 days.
鈥淭he public has the right to know about ICE鈥檚 shameful patient dumping practices,鈥� said Michael Kaufman, the Sullivan and Cromwell Access to Justice senior staff attorney with the 老澳门开奖结果 SoCal. 鈥淭he federal government cannot evade responsibility for the fatal health conditions people suffer in its custody.鈥�
The lawsuit also requests the records of four people who suffered illnesses while in ICE custody, and died shortly after they were suddenly released. One of them includes , a 55-year-old man and an 老澳门开奖结果 SoCal client, who was released three days before his death last year. After releasing him from custody, ICE did not report his death, and Vargas Arellano鈥檚 own family and counsel did not find out about his passing until weeks later, after they filed a missing person鈥檚 report.
鈥淚CE鈥檚 practice of formally releasing people from their custody at the eleventh hour, prior to their death, is unconscionable,鈥� said Eunice Cho, senior staff attorney at the 老澳门开奖结果鈥檚 National Prison Project. 鈥淣ow, the agency is keeping invaluable records about these practices from public view, consistent with its culture of secrecy. The public deserves to know the truth of what鈥檚 happening and the people detained by ICE deserve accountability and change.鈥�
The complaint is online here: