The ACLU of Maine, the ACLU of Massachusetts, the University of Maine School of Law's Refugee and Human Rights Clinic, and the law firm Pierce Atwood filed this case on behalf of Antony Jose Canela Rodriguez, challenging the practice by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) of transferring immigrant detainees from New England to ICE detention facilities in southern states.
The lawsuit contends ICE engages in this practice in order to bypass lawsuits brought in First Circuit courts, and to evade the scrutiny of advocates in the region. This practice creates unconscionable risk during the COVID-19 pandemic, needlessly exposing immigrant detainees to multiple crowded and unhygienic settings, and heightened risk of exposure to COVID-19.
