Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency from detaining Caribbean and other immigrants in abusive conditions at 26 Federal Plaza in Manhattan. The immigrant advocacy group, Make the Road New York (MRNY), said that the order, notably grants class certification and prohibits ICE from detaining people in spaces with less than 50 square feet per person. MRNY said the order also requires ICE to improve access to hygiene, provide sleeping mats and access to adequate soap and other hygiene products, and ensure immigrants detained can make free, unmonitored, and confidential calls to their lawyers within 24 hours of being detained. “The cruel policy of subjecting individuals to degrading treatment and inhumane conditions is deeply disturbing. And now, the court has made it abundantly clear that it is also illegal,” Harold Solis, MRNY’s co-legal director, told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC).

“As always, we’ll remain vigilant to ensure the government complies with today’s decision.” Solis said that, in August, the court granted a temporary restraining order prohibiting ICE from holding people in abusive conditions at 26 Federal Plaza after MRNY, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), New York Civil Liberties Union and Wang Hecker LLP filed a class action lawsuit. Solis noted that the temporary holding facility has come under fire in recent months, after ICE held more than 100 people, sometimes for weeks, in inhumane and unsanitary conditions without beds, showers, or adequate medical support. Solis said the government also banned in-person legal visitation, any confidential phone or video communication, and confidential exchange of written documents, in violation of people’s First and Fifth Amendment rights. (Jamaica Gleaner)