March 20, 2020 CONTACTS: Alejandra Lopez, The Legal Aid Society, 917-294-9348, ailopez@legal-aid.org Ryan Karerat, The Bronx Defenders, 917-635-4326, rkarerat@bronxdefenders.org ***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*** Bronx Defenders and Legal Aid Sue for Immediate Release of Clients at High Risk of COVID-19 from Immigrant Detention (NEW YORK, NY) – The Bronx Defenders and The Legal Aid Society today filed…
The Bronx Defenders and The Legal Aid Society today filed a lawsuit in federal court against U.S. Immigration and Customs and Enforcement (ICE) to seek the immediate release of seven individuals in immigrant detention who are at imminent risk of serious illness or death in the event of a COVID-19 infection because of their age or underlying health conditions….
March 20, 2020 CONTACTS: Alejandra Lopez, The Legal Aid Society, 917-294-9348, AILopez@legal-aid.org Ryan Karerat, The Bronx Defenders, 917-635-4326, rkarerat@bronxdefenders.org Dan Ball, Brooklyn Defender Services, 203-213-9303, dball@bds.org ***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*** NYIFUP Reports Immigrants Organize Second Hunger Strike in NJ Detention Center In Protest of Egregious Conditions Amid COVID-19 Pandemic As Immigrants Strike in Hudson…
“Public defenders and advocates for inmates have called for sending home all inmates with pre-existing medical conditions, those over 50 and anyone jailed for a parole violation. “It is a ticking time bomb,” said Justine Olderman, executive director of the Bronx Defenders. “We’re looking for bold action and leadership.” On Saturday, the Board of Correction,…
“Attorneys who represent detainees at the Hudson and Essex County facilities say inmates are reporting threats and intimidation by guards when they’re heard discussing conditions on the phone. Because detention centers across the country have already canceled in-person visits from family and attorneys as a precautionary measure, this means detainees are increasingly isolated and in…
Inmates there and around New York City have lodged complaints that the jails lack “basic sanitation measures,” according to the Legal Aid Society. “There are broken sinks, there’s no hand sanitizer, people don’t have access to soap,” Justine Olderman, executive director of Bronx Defenders, told The Intercept. “And at a time we’re all being asked to…
March 19, 2020 CONTACTS: Alejandra Lopez, The Legal Aid Society, 917-294-9348, AILopez@legal-aid.org Ryan Karerat, The Bronx Defenders, 917-635-4326, rkarerat@bronxdefenders.org Dan Ball, Brooklyn Defender Services, 203-213-9303, dball@bds.org ***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*** NYIFUP Statement on Bergen County Corrections Officer Testing Positive for COVID-19 and Continued ICE Enforcement During Pandemic NYC Public Defenders Blast ICE Response to COVID-19…
“The hunger strike just underlines how deeply problematic ICE’s management of the situation is,” the joint statement said. “We are in the midst of an unprecedented crisis. ICE has done nothing to rise to the occasion but instead continues to put the lives of hundreds of people at risk.” The statement says that attorneys from…
The organizers are attempting to spread the strike through the whole facility, including to workers at the jail. “We are asking our fellow brothers in ICE [custody] to join us. We are also asking the kitchen workers that work in the main kitchen downstairs to not go to work,” the strikers said. “There is power…
For Immediate Release: March 18, 2020 NEW YORK – Justine Olderman, Executive Director at The Bronx Defenders, issued the following statement in response to reports that an incarcerated person and corrections officer at Rikers Island tested positive for COVID-19: “This inevitable development only underscores what we have been saying all along: the people in our jails are particularly vulnerable…
For Immediate Release: March 18, 2020 NEW YORK – Justine Olderman, Executive Director at The Bronx Defenders, issued the following statement in response to reports that an incarcerated person and corrections officer at Rikers Island tested positive for COVID-19: “This inevitable development only underscores what we have been saying all along: the people in our…
The restricted ability of people locked on Rikers to protect themselves is a problem because many of them, due to age or underlying health conditions, are at higher risk of getting very sick or dying from the disease. It’s also a problem because the officials tasked with making sure incarcerated people are safe have so far refused…
March 18, 2020 CONTACTS: Alejandra Lopez, The Legal Aid Society, 917-294-9348, AILopez@legal-aid.org Ryan Karerat, The Bronx Defenders, 917-635-4326, rkarerat@bronxdefenders.org Dan Ball, Brooklyn Defender Services, 203-213-9303, dball@bds.org ***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*** Immigrants in NJ Detention Center Organize Hunger Strike; NYIFUP Condemns Egregious Conditions in Local ICE Jails Amid COVID-19 Pandemic NYC Public Defenders Demand ICE Release Vulnerable…
“The only way we can possibly keep incarcerated people safe is to release them,” said Justine Olderman, executive director of the Bronx Defenders. “The next best thing is to drastically reduce the number of people being held. Neither of those things are being done right now. As public defenders, what we’re actually seeing happen is…
Thankfully, there are some courageous lawyers in New York City who are fighting to change this dangerous status quo. They join the ranks of prominent organizations like the ACLU who filed suit against ICE on Monday for the release of nine detainees held at a Washington state detention center who are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19. This current…
NYCLU and Bronx Defenders Seek Emergency Relief for People in ICE Detention Expedited decision sought for people in NYC facilities as threat of COVID-19 looms For Immediate Release: March 17, 2020 Media contact: Ben Schaefer, bschaefer@nyclu.org, 212-607-3372 Ryan Karerat, rkarerat@bronxdefenders.org, 917-635-4326 NEW YORK – The New York Civil Liberties Union and The Bronx Defenders have…
The coronavirus outbreak has closed schools, businesses, and has forced many to remain at home. With so many precautions underway, several organizations allege that ICE is handling undocumented people as if it was business as usual. NSC learned ICE was transporting 6 minors from Dallas to NY during #COVIDー19 We went to the airport to witness their…
March 13, 2020 CONTACT: Ryan Karerat, The Bronx Defenders, rkarerat@bronxdefenders.org Dan Ball, Brooklyn Defender Services, dball@bds.org Alejandra Lopez, The Legal Aid Society, AILopez@legal-aid.org ***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*** NYIFUP DEMANDS ICE RELEASE IMMIGRANTS IN LOCAL JAILS AND HALT ALL ARRESTS DUE TO THEIR FAILURE TO RESPOND ON CORONAVIRUS CRISIS NYC Public Defenders Also Calling for Postponement of…
March 16, 2020 Contact Redmond Haskins, The Legal Aid Society (RHaskins@legal-aid.org) Daniel Ball, Brooklyn Defender Services (DBall@bds.org) Ryan Karerat, The Bronx Defenders (RKarerat@bronxdefenders.org) Lupe Todd-Medina, New York County Defender Services (LToddmedina@nycds.org) Sam McCann, The Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem (SMccann@ndsny.org) ***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*** Joint Defender Statement Calling for Immediate Release of Vulnerable Incarcerated…
The New York Immigrant Family Unity Project ensures that everyone in ICE custody in New York City is guaranteed access to an attorney, regardless of their criminal legal status. “We never wanted to play into the rhetoric of the ‘good, deserving’ immigrant versus the less deserving person who may have had contact with the criminal legal system,”…
Josie Duffy Rice and guest co-host Zak Cheney-Rice talk with Emma Ketteringham, the managing director of the Bronx Defenders Family Defense Practice, about the relationship between the criminal justice system and family court, and how together they can wreak havoc on American families. Listen to the full podcast here
NYIFUP Demands Answers from ICE On How NYC-Area Detention Centers Will Respond to Coronavirus Crisis FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 9, 2020 CONTACT: Alejandra Lopez, The Legal Aid Society, 917-294-9348, AILopez@legal-aid.org Ryan Karerat, The Bronx Defenders, rkarerat@bronxdefenders.org Dan Ball, Brooklyn Defender Services, dball@bds.org (NEW YORK, NY) – The Legal Aid Society, Brooklyn Defender Services, and The Bronx Defenders – New…
Momentarily put aside your positions on immigration policy, if you will, and consider this case of alleged algorithmic rigging. Whatever your feelings on people seeking legal status in the US, you may find cause for concern about humanity’s growing reliance on machines to determine liberty. Last week, the Bronx Defenders and New York Civil Liberties Union…
The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is going to undergo legal proceedings for the improper processing of immigrants. The migrants were supposed to stay idle and wait for their court hearings without being locked up, but ICE did otherwise. ICE is facing a lawsuit that was filed by the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU)…
March 6, 2020 Thomas Decker New York Field Office Director Immigration and Customs Enforcement 26 Federal Plaza, 9th Floor New York NY 10278 Warden Steven Ahrendt Bergen County Jail 160 S. River Street Hackensack, NJ 07601 Director Ronald P. Edwards Hudson County Correctional Facility 30-35 Hackensack Avenue Kearny, NJ 07032 Sheriff Carl E. DuBois Orange…
