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Yahoo
5 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Civil Rights Groups Say Immigrants Are Being Denied Legal Access at Detention Centers
A group of civil rights and legal organizations say immigrant detainees being held at two federal detention centers are being denied their constitutional right to legal counsel. One of those detention centers is a Miami facility flagged by Reason earlier this week for allegations of overcrowding and dysfunction. In letters to the Trump administration released Thursday, Americans for Immigrant Justice (AIJ), the American Civil Liberties Union, and several other groups urged the administration to immediately restore detainees' access to legal counsel at Federal Correctional Institution Leavenworth (FCI Leavenworth) and Federal Detention Center-Miami (FDC Miami), two Bureau of Prisons (BOP) facilities that are holding hundreds of detainees for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). According to the letters, attorneys for AIJ, Florida Legal Services, and the University of Miami Immigration Clinic "have witnessed and documented troubling systemic failures to provide individuals detained in immigration custody with access to vital legal resources and counsel" at FDC Miami. Those deprivations include regular denial of access to legal documents, legal mail, and attorney calls. The groups say these restrictions violate detainees' due process rights under the Fifth Amendment and their First Amendment right to free speech. "Denying detained immigrants access to legal documents, mail, and phone calls makes it all but impossible to fight and win an immigration case," AIJ Executive Director Sui Chung said in a press release. "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." The letter echoes descriptions by BOP employees and immigration lawyers of poor conditions and bureaucratic chaos in FDC Miami, where roughly 400 immigrant detainees are being held on two floors. The federal prison system has struggled for years to get a handle on crumbling facilities, understaffing and low morale, and endemic corruption, but it was nevertheless pressed into service to handle the influx of detentions under Trump's mass deportation program. A BOP employee told Reason that four of the eight elevators in the multi-story tower are broken, leading to frequent lockdowns that restrict detainees' access to phones and computers. "I've been at FDC Miami for 16 years," Kenny Castillo, president of American Federation of Government Employees Local 501, the union representing Bureau of Prisons employees at the lockup, said. "I've never seen the building like I see it right now." In their letter, the civil rights groups say crucial legal paperwork is going missing when detainees are transferred to and from FDC Miami. Legal mail is delayed or never arrives. They say it takes days, sometimes over a week, for attorneys to schedule a phone call with a client. "These failures and delays have serious—potentially devastating—consequences for detained individuals' ability access and communicate with counsel, as well as their ability to apply for protection in the U.S. and to fight their cases in immigration court, as is their constitutional right." The cumulative effect of all this is that attorneys say it's nearly impossible to plan a legal strategy for their clients. "I had a hearing this morning, and the judge ordered me to speak with [my client]," Katie Blankenship, an attorney at Sanctuary of the South, said. "I couldn't be at FDC, and they wouldn't get me on the phone with him. I had to go to court this morning and be like, 'Sorry judge, no, I did not speak to my client, because I couldn't.'" The dysfunction at FDC Miami erupted into a mini-riot on April 15, after the afternoon headcount dragged on for nearly five hours. A group of disgruntled detainees flooded a floor of the unit, and BOP correctional officers responded with concussive flashbang grenades. The civil rights groups allege similar conditions at FCI Leavenworth in Kansas, where they say immigrant detainees are subjected to lengthy lockdowns, abusive use-of-force, and medical neglect. In response to a request for comment, a BOP spokesperson said the agency is "committed to ensuring the safety and security of all inmates in our population, our staff, and the public. However, we do not comment on matters related to pending litigation, legal proceedings, or investigations." ICE did not respond to a request for comment. The post Civil Rights Groups Say Immigrants Are Being Denied Legal Access at Detention Centers appeared first on
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
'Swirling blue vortex' spotted in skies of North East explained by experts
A spectacular blue spiral spotted in the night skies over the North East sparked a flurry of excitement, with some wondering if they had witnessed a UFO. The bizarre phenomenon, described by onlookers as a 'swirling blue vortex' or 'galactic spiral,' appeared high above the UK skies on Monday (March 24) evening, leaving many reaching for their cameras – and wondering if extra-terrestrial visitors had arrived. However, the explanation is a little simpler, as experts have explained the phenomenon. The strange vortex, disk in the skis of the North East (Image: AIJ photography) According to experts, the stunning display was caused by a fuel dump from a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The spiral shape was created as the rocket's second stage performed a controlled deorbit burn, releasing excess fuel into the upper atmosphere. Professor Brian Cox weighed in on the mystery, writing on social media platform X (formerly Twitter): 'For everyone asking about the strange spiral shape in the sky earlier – it was associated with this launch.' Falcon 9 lifts off from pad 40 and returns to LZ-1 in Florida — SpaceX (@SpaceX) March 24, 2025 He also shared a video from SpaceX showing the Falcon 9's first stage successfully landing at LZ-1 in Florida. Space enthusiasts and astronomers quickly moved to calm speculation. VirtualAstro, a well-known astronomy page on X, explained: 'For those who saw something weird in the sky earlier – the SpaceX craft was performing manoeuvres and its exhaust jets created an impressive swirl in the sky.' Recommended reading: Girl, 10, has chunk of skull removed after trampoline accident left her paralysed Iron Age hoard in region is 'one of biggest and most important' in UK history Teenager who crashed stolen car during police chase walks free from court UK Astronomy also posted: 'Lots asking about this! It's the 2nd stage deorbit burn from the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.' The event captivated stargazers across the country, with many sharing images and videos online. Sightings were reported across a wide area – from County Durham, Teesside, Northumberland and parts of North Yorkshire – highlighting the vast visibility of the phenomenon.
