Despite Court Order Feds Continue to Cram People (All Non-White) at Twice the Limit into Baltimore ICE JaiI; Locked Up w/Bright Lights on 24/7, Denied Food, Medicine and Access to Attorneys

Immigrant detention facilities in downtown Baltimore remain overcrowded despite a court order directing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to improve conditions, according to lawyers for current and former detainees.

One “hold room” at the Fallon Federal Building was overcrowded on 59% of days between March 7 and June 30, with 18 days in which capacity was twice the limit allowed by U.S. District Judge Julie Rubin‘s preliminary injunction, detainees’ lawyers stated this month in a motion to force ICE to comply with the order. They said ICE’s declarations “strongly indicate inadequate compliance with the requirement regarding access to medication.”

On March 6, Rubin ordered ICE to limit the number of detainees to 56 and certified the plaintiffs as a class. “The totality of the circumstances demonstrate a serious deprivation,” she wrote.

The hold rooms drew attention last year and again this January when a video was released showing detainees with next to no personal space in the cramped rooms. Detainees allege the facilities were cold, unsanitary and lacking in privacy, and bright lights remained on at all hours. They said ICE deprived them of sleep, food, medication, hygiene products and access to counsel.

Many people were held there for more than a week, despite a policy generally requiring transfers out of the hold rooms within 12 hours. [MORE]