ACLU sues Trump administration over 'Louisiana Lockup' ICE facility at Angola
Source: Times-Picayune NOLA.com
12 hrs ago
The federal government is using the “Louisiana Lockup” at Angola to illegally punish immigrants twice for the same offense, the American Civil Liberties Union claimed Monday in a lawsuit against President Donald J. Trump’s administration.
The federal lawsuit, filed Monday in the Middle District of Louisiana, argues that a detainee is being held at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola even though his deportation order is more than 6 months old, which the ACLU says is unconstitutional. And by holding immigrants at a facility located on the grounds of the country’s largest maximum-security prison, the Trump administration is using the is immigration system, whose proceedings are civil, to dole out criminal punishment, the lawsuit says.
Spokespeople for the Department of Homeland Security and Gov. Jeff Landry’s office did not respond to requests for comment on the lawsuit. In a statement, Department of Public Safety and Corrections spokesperson Tiffany Dickerson said the agency was “unable to provide a response” to a media inquiry and directed questions to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“I haven’t been to the facility — it’s run by the federal government. I have no reason to believe that they aren’t following federal guidelines for ICE detainees,” state Attorney General Liz Murrill said in a statement. The state is not a named defendant in the lawsuit.
Read more: https://www.nola.com/news/aclu-lawsuit-trump-ice-louisiana-lockup/article_bb59ae62-1e1e-4301-b52c-42e1eae49a8c.amp.html
Link to ACLU PRESS RELEASE - Attorneys File Habeas Petition Challenging Unconstitutional Indefinite Detention at Angola's "Camp 57"