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A note from the Immigrant Defense Project

Dear IDP Friends and Supporters,

At this moment of deep uncertainty and pain, our hearts go out to everyone suffering from the COVID-19 pandemic, including the most vulnerable of us — those who are behind bars, whether in jail, detention, or prison. We are grateful to be part of a community of advocates, lawyers, and other directly impacted leaders standing up for the rights of all of us. While our physical office is now closed, IDP continues to do everything we can to support legal and political efforts to get people released from detention and jail. We are doing our best to fill gaps in resources and work with partners to make sure we are stronger and more coordinated. And we will continue to track and fight back against ICE’s cruel and dehumanizing tactics and rhetoric. Below you’ll hear more about our response. If you see other gaps where IDP can support, please let us know. Sending love and appreciation for all that you do to make this work possible. Let’s protect ourselves and each other.

In solidarity,

Alisa, on behalf of everyone at IDP

IDP's Padilla Support Center & hotline remain active
IDP Responds as ICE Continues Community and Courthouse Arrests During Pandemic
Two New Resources from the Litigation Team at IDP
Immigrant Justice Network continues the fight to keep all people out of cages

IDP's Padilla Support Center & hotline remain active

IDP's Padilla Support Center continues to assist attorneys assigned to represent immigrant clients in New York City. Criminal and family defense attorneys can request assistance on individual cases through our webform or by emailing [email protected].

IDP's hotline also continues to be available for immigrants, their loved ones, and their non-profit immigration attorneys needing assistance analyzing the immigration consequences of contact with the criminal legal system or to report ICE raids in New York State.

IDP Responds as ICE Continues Community and Courthouse Arrests During Pandemic

In the face of a global pandemic and calls for people to minimize the potential spread of COVID-19, ICE has callously continued its raids despite repeated calls to end raids, release people from detention, and close courts. The IDP raids team has been actively monitoring and sharing information about ICE arrests in New York City and surrounding areas during this unprecedented public health emergency. On Monday March 16th, the morning that Suffolk County announced that its school system would close, ICE agents arrested a non-citizen as he was leaving the Suffolk County District Court. Two days later, the same day a Staten Island drive-through testing center for COVID-19 cases was announced, teams of ICE agents went to four homes and arrested three non-citizens.

We've gotten many questions about ICE's March 18, 2020 announcement on how they would continue conducting raids focusing on "public safety risks and people subject to mandatory detention due to criminal grounds." We continue to push back on the criminalization of immigrants that ICE fuels to advance its mission. For more see, the updated foreword to our ICE raids toolkit, "Defend Against ICE Raids and Community Arrests."

Some of our anti-raids work at this time includes:

Sharing information with New York City Councilmembers through a letter highlighting the troubling trends in ICE policing, including the presence of Border Patrol agents in Brooklyn and ICE agents at a New York City family shelter.
Updating our ICEwatch raids map, which now includes over 1400 verified raids that IDP has received through March 19, 2020.
Coordinating two separate sign-on letters with allies last week to Attorney General Barr and the Acting Director of the Department of Homeland Security. A March 17 letter called on ICE to halt raids, release immigrants from detention and close the immigration courts, amplifying the call from NYIFUP providers. A letter issued on March 20 was a direct response by advocates for survivors of intimate partner violence calling on ICE to stop raids during this time and not use intimate partner violence as a justification for raids.
Informing media about ICE policing activities, including providing regular updates and critical context to The New York Times and Gothamist, among others, about the alarming nature of ICE's raids in this moment, including the potential spread of coronavirus in detention centers.
Distributing key resources to community members, such as our suite of know-your-rights materials. We also updated our toolkit “Defend Against ICE Raids and Community Arrests,” available in English and Spanish.

Two New Resources from the Litigation Team at IDP

To assist detained noncitizens who have already been denied bond, IDP developed template motions and supporting exhibits that both practitioners and unrepresented individuals can use to seek a new bond hearing before an Immigration Judge. The motions and exhibits seek to demonstrate that the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic constitutes a material changed circumstance requiring a redetermination of one's custody status. In addition, IDP has advocated with both ICE and the federal district court to advocate for the release of a client who remains detained despite a serious health condition that elevates his risk of contracting COVID-19 and suffering potentially fatal consequences from any infection. You can find both template motions and supporting exhibits here.

Immigrant Justice Network continues the fight to keep all people out of cages

IDP, alongside our Immigrant Justice Network partners and other allies, is fighting to keep all people out of cages - jails, prisons, or detention centers. Locking anyone up during this pandemic may literally amount to a death sentence. Time and again we have seen ICE use the dehumanizing label of "criminal" to justify their reckless raids and refusal to free people. We are in the middle of a pandemic and ICE continues to be a public health threat. Please read our Immigrant Justice Network statement: To #FlattenTheCurve, We Must #FreeThemAll.

Donate today and support IDP in the fight for immigrant rights!

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