Dear ,

Ruben Mencias Soto has dislocated and herniated discs in his back. Without a wheelchair or crutches, he struggles to walk and suffers from immense pain. But at the Adelanto Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Processing Center in California — where he has been held for over a year — he’s had his wheelchair and crutches taken away by detention staff.

Mencias Soto is not alone. He’s one of the tens of thousands of immigrants and asylum seekers who are paying a heavy price for ICE’s system-wide failure to provide standard medical and mental health care and disability accommodations for people in its custody.

Along with our allies, we’re fighting in court to challenge the Trump administration’s cruel disregard for their health and well-being — and yesterday was a breakthrough.

A federal judge ruled that our nationwide class action lawsuit against ICE and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) can proceed. It means that Mencias Soto, one of the plaintiffs, and immigrants like him will finally have their day in court.

“This is the first step in holding ICE to account for its appalling treatment of the tens of thousands of immigrants needlessly incarcerated and languishing in its prisons around the country,” said Lisa Graybill, SPLC deputy legal director.

The lawsuit is a joint effort filed by the SPLC, Disability Rights Advocates, Civil Rights Education and Enforcement Center, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP and Wilkie Farr & Gallagher LLP.

In his ruling, U.S. District Judge Jesus Bernal, who presides in California, denied the Trump administration’s motion to dismiss the suit we filed last August or to divide it into multiple individual cases.

The court’s decision was the right one, because this administration’s failure to enforce its own standards, much less the Constitution, is a nationwide scandal — and one that deserves a nationwide solution. That’s why we’re seeking class action status for the suit.

“The court rejected ICE’s false narrative that our plaintiffs’ stories represent just a few individual problems,” said Graybill. “The court saw through ICE’s deliberate mischaracterization of our case.”

Another one of our plaintiffs, Jose Baca Hernandez, who is blind, has not been provided with effective communication support during his time in custody. He has been forced to rely on his cellmates, attorneys and guards to read documents, including those related to his medical care and immigration case.

“This is not only for me,” said Baca Hernandez. “It’s so everyone here can be healthy.”

This fight is far from over. But yesterday was an important victory for Mencias Soto, Baca Hernandez and the tens of thousands of others they seek to represent. Their stories must — and now will — be heard.

Thank you for supporting this vital work — and for your commitment to justice for immigrants and others we serve. We could not continue this important work without you.

Your friends at the SPLC