DHS Ordered to Expand Remote Legal Access for ICE Detainees

The Department of Homeland Security has been ordered by a federal judge in Washington to improve the telephone and video conferencing systems at four detention facilities in Louisiana and Georgia so that civil immigration detainees are able to confer more freely with their lawyers during the course of the coronavirus pandemic.

Social distancing is key to mitigate the spread of Covid-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Many detention facilities have suspended in-person visits for legal counsel along with other measures, like expanding detainees’ access to face masks and cleaning supplies.

Remote communication has become the “primary ...