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ICE detainees were sprayed with a cleaner during COVID crisis. Now they have a settlement

A proposed settlement given preliminary approval by a judge provides compensation to six former detainees who sued over the COVID crisis-era use of a disinfectant at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center.
October 8, 2026
Case News

SJLF and Co-Counsel Submit Public Comment Warning LA County of Risks From Mail Digitization in Jails

As the Los Angeles Sheriff's Office considers adopting mail digitization in County jails, legal organizations flag concerns and ongoing litigation related to the practice.
March 19, 2026
Press Releases

SJLF Settles Novel Civil Rights Case Against West Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office

Today, the Social Justice Legal Foundation, on behalf of client Nia Mills, settled a years-long lawsuit against the West Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office and its deputies for their flagrant violation of Ms. Mills’s civil rights.
February 5, 2026
Press Releases

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Case News

ICE detainees were sprayed with a cleaner during COVID crisis. Now they have a settlement

A proposed settlement given preliminary approval by a judge provides compensation to six former detainees who sued over the COVID crisis-era use of a disinfectant at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center.

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Press Releases

Trial Impact Project and Bet Tzedek Reunite Immigrant Children with Their Family After Months-Long Detention

Unaccompanied children returned to family after months in detention

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Press Releases

Trial Impact Project Reunites Venezuelan Asylum Seeker with His Family in Florida After He Was Unlawfully Re-Detained by ICE

Venezuelan asylum seeker reunited with family after ICE re-detention

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Press Releases

Trial Impact Project Reaches Settlement in Racial Discrimination Case

Trial Impact Project Settled its 1983 Case Against Denham Springs Police Department with Title VI Racial Discrimination Litigation Continuing Against Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office

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Press Releases

Report Reveals Livingston Parish Sheriff's Office Is Seven Times More Likely to Stop, Ticket, and Arrest Black Drivers than non-Black Drivers, Sheriff Fails to Respond

LPSO refuses to track its own data despite statistical analysis exposing systematic racial discrimination in traffic stops, tickets, and arrests.

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Press Releases

Introducing the Trial Impact Project: Litigation Nonprofit Social Justice Legal Foundation Rebrands & Looks to the Future

Litigation nonprofit Social Justice Legal Foundation is now the Trial Impact Project, reflecting the organization’s focus on public interest trial litigation as a form of democratic participation. The nonprofit was founded in 2021 to develop civil rights and social impact cases and a pipeline of public interest lawyers to litigate them.

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Press Releases

Social Justice Legal Foundation, now Trial Impact Project, Signs on to Amicus Brief Challenging Executive Orders

The Social Justice Legal Foundation, now known as the Trial Impact Project, has signed on to an amicus brief alongside thirty other nonprofits in Perkins Coie LLP v. U.S. Dept. Of Justice. The brief supports law firms in their defense of a district court ruling striking down a series of executive orders as unconstitutional.

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Press Releases

SJLF and Co-Counsel Submit Public Comment Warning LA County of Risks From Mail Digitization in Jails

As the Los Angeles Sheriff's Office considers adopting mail digitization in County jails, legal organizations flag concerns and ongoing litigation related to the practice.

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Press Releases

SJLF Settles Novel Civil Rights Case Against West Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office

Today, the Social Justice Legal Foundation, on behalf of client Nia Mills, settled a years-long lawsuit against the West Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office and its deputies for their flagrant violation of Ms. Mills’s civil rights.

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Press Releases

Marjorie Menza Named SJLF Fellowship Director

The Social Justice Legal Foundation is pleased to announce Marjorie Menza has been promoted to Fellowship Director.

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Press Releases

Court Allows New Claims in Case over Pesticide Harm at Adelanto Detention Center

A federal judge has allowed the expansion of claims in a putative class action alleging that private prison operator The GEO Group, Inc. recklessly sprayed detainees with a pesticide while they were imprisoned at the facility.

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Press Releases

SJLF, ACLU Client Settles Lawsuit Challenging Unconstitutional Citation System in Lancaster, California

Because of the lawsuit, the City of Lancaster provides a free appeal to people who cannot pay their fines and reviews certain citations targeting poor and unhoused residents.

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Case News

Court Denies West Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office Bid to Toss Justice Lab Case of Unconstitutional Search and Seizure of Black Woman

NEW ORLEANS — A federal judge held yesterday that Justice Lab client Nia Mills could proceed to trial in her case against West Baton Rouge Sheriff Officers Allen Connelly, John Gaudet and other deputies for violating her Fourth Amendment rights.

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Press Releases

Court Denies Sheriff's Office Bid to Toss Civil Rights Case Targeting Searches and Seizures

In a win for civil rights in the South, a Louisiana federal judge held that Social Justice Legal Foundation client Nia Mills could proceed to trial in her case against a Louisiana sheriff and his deputies for violating her Fourth Amendment rights.

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Case News

Public Safety Administrative Citations in the City of Lancaster

Following a legal settlement in Butts v. Lancaster, your rights could be impacted if you are ticketed. If you have been issued a public safety citation (ticket), you have rights:

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Case News

ACLU Louisiana Justice Lab CASE #38 – CLARK V. HOTARD ET AL. (MDLA)

The Social Justice Legal Foundation and the ACLU of Louisiana are representing Alexander Clark in a lawsuit against the Sheriff of Livingston Parish, several of his officers, the Chief of Police of Denham Springs, several of his officers, and the City of Denham Springs.

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Case News

KQED Newscast: Sara Haji on San Mateo's Mail Handling

Audio interview with SJLF Director Sara Haji on the importance of physical mail.

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Press Releases

Lawsuit on Behalf of People Detained at Adelanto Detention Center Prevails Against Motion to Dismiss

On Thursday, July 6, 2023, a Federal Court denied The GEO Group (“GEO”)’s Motion to Dismiss in Ronduen et al. vs. The Geo Group, Inc. Traducción al español a continuación.

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Press Releases

New Report Shows that Contrary to California Law, Many Parole Hearings for Transgender and Nonbinary People Include Misgendering

A new study of California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) parole hearings by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law and the Social Justice Legal Foundation finds 43% of parole hearings for transgender and nonbinary people included misgendering and/or insensitive comments.

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Case News

Opinion: Why should San Mateo County jail ban handwritten letters from loved ones?

‘In his hands, my letters went back to being something between us, something of me that he could have and could keep’

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Case News

Lawsuit Claims GEO Group Poisoned Immigrant Inmates with Toxic Chemicals

The lawsuit alleges that several immigrants developed chronic medical conditions after being exposed to “near-constant” applications of a powerful disinfectant.

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Case News

Press Conference Held to Bring Awareness to Fight for Justice against GEO Group and Adelanto Detention Center

A press conference was held in March 2023 to bring awareness to formerly detained immigrants leading the fight for justice against the GEO Group and the Adelanto Immigration Detention Center.

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Case News

Prison Company Sued for Alleged Misuse of Toxic Chemical in Adelanto Detention Center

The lawsuit claims that employees of the GEO Group ignored the directions on a toxic cleaning chemical. It’s meant to disinfect surfaces.

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Case News

Demandan a GEO Group por rociar con químicos tóxicos a inmigrantes detenidos durante la pandemia

La Fundación Legal de Justicia Social (SJLF) entabló una demanda colectiva contra la corporación GEO Group Inc, por rociar durante la pandemia a los inmigrantes bajo su custodia en el Centro de Detención de Adelanto con productos químicos presuntamente tóxicos, los cuales les han generado problemas serios de salud.

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Case News

Demandan a GEO Group por uso imprudente de desinfectante en cárcel de ICE

Los Ángeles, 21 mar (EFE).- Un grupo de siete inmigrantes encabezaron una demanda contra GEO Group, que alega que la compañía usó de forma impudente un químico tóxico como medida para contener la covid-19 en un centro de detención de inmigrantes en California, informaron hoy sus abogados.

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Case News

Immigrants suing Adelanto ICE operations company claim they were sprayed with toxic chemical

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KABC) -- People detained at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Southern California said they were sprayed with a disinfectant and were left to suffer the health consequences. Now, they've moved forward with legal action.

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Case News

GEO Group Hit With Class Suit Alleging Detainees ‘Poisoned’ By Pandemic Cleaner

Individuals housed at a Adelanto, Calif., immigration detention facility filed a putative class complaint in federal court in California against the facility operator alleging that they and others "were forced to endure months-long poisoning" due to a cleaning solution used multiple times an hour as a purported safety measure against COVID-19 . . .

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Case News

Immigrants were exposed to hazardous chemicals in detention centers

A new lawsuit filed against one of the nation’s largest for-profit prison operators, GEO Group Inc., alleges the company improperly used toxic chemicals to clean its detention centers, causing inmates to get sick.

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Case News

ICE detainees were ‘poisoned’ by toxic cleaning chemicals, lawsuit alleges

As the coronavirus pandemic took hold in the United States in early 2020, employees at an Adelanto, Calif., detention center began spraying the facility with a foul-smelling pink aerosol, a lawsuit alleges.

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Case News

GEO Group sickened ICE detainees with hazardous chemicals for months, a lawsuit says

A new lawsuit filed against one of the nation's largest for-profit prison operators, GEO Group Inc., alleges the company improperly used toxic chemicals to clean its detention centers, causing inmates to get sick.

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Case News

Lawsuit Challenges Ban on Physical Mail at California County Jail

Prisons and jails around the country have been banning physical mail and used book donations under the flimsy justification of stopping contraband.

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Case News

Prisión de ICE usó químico tóxico

Prisión privada de ICE usó químico tóxico para intentar contener COVID entre inmigrantes, dice demanda

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Press Releases

Class Action Lawsuit on Behalf of Detained Immigrants Alleges GEO Group Poisoned Them at Adelanto Detention Center

[Spanish Version Below/ Version en español abajo] On Monday March 20, 2023, the Social Justice Legal Foundation (SJLF) filed a class action lawsuit against GEO Group Inc., a multi-billion-dollar corporation profiting from human captivity.

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Case News

For-Profit Immigration Detention Operator Accused of Sickening Detainees

On March 20, 2023, the Social Justice Legal Foundation filed a class action complaint against The Geo Group, one of the largest for-profit prison operators in the United States.[1] In the suit, the Foundation brought the claims of seven current and previous detainees who had suffered from prolonged exposure to HDQ Neutral, a cleaning agent and registered pesticide utilized by GEO in their detention facility in Adelanto, California.

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Case News

San Mateo County sued again over jail mail digitization system

Paper mail conversion practice draws lawsuit from high-profile legal coalition led by Columbia University institute, Electronic Frontier Foundation and Social Justice Legal Foundation

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Press Releases

Incarcerated Individuals and Advocacy Groups Challenge California County’s Policy of Digitizing and Destroying Jail Mail

Knight Institute, Electronic Frontier Foundation, and Social Justice Legal Foundation say that the policy violates the rights to free speech and privacy.

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Case News

San Mateo County sued for forcing inmates to read mail on computers, destroying hard copies

San Mateo County jail inmates could receive letters from family and friends until two years ago, when the county began shipping the mail to a digital company that scanned it, destroyed the paper copies and allowed the inmates only limited access on tablets and kiosks.

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Press Releases

SJLF Advocates Against California Courts’ use of Civil Assessments, Fees that Exacerbate Court Debt for People in Poverty.

In March 2022, SJLF joined a coalition of lawyers in Southern California working to challenge the imposition of civil assessments – fees that courts impose when a person fails to appear in court or pay court fines on time.

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Press Releases

SJLF Meets with Advocates to Discuss Results of Public Records Request Regarding Access to Reentry Services for Members of the Trans Community

On November 8, 2022, the Social Justice Legal Foundation (SJLF) presented findings from a California Public Records Act (CPRA) request to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) on access to reentry services for individuals who are transgender or gender nonconforming.

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Press Releases

SJLF Files Amicus Brief Against Invasive Orange County DNA Collection Program

On October 27, 2022, the Social Justice Legal Foundation (SJLF) filed an amicus brief against the invasive and expansive Orange County DNA Collection Program (OCDNA)—highlighting the serious violations of right to counsel and the coercive environment that forces people merely charged with a misdemeanor offense to permanently surrender their unique genetic code.

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TIP in News

The Daily Journal Features SJLF and Howard Partnership

The Social Justice Legal Foundation and Howard University's partnership has been featured in The Daily Journal.

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Press Releases

SJLF and Howard University School of Law announce new partnership for 2023 SJLF Fellow class

The Social Justice Legal Foundation (SJLF) is proud to partner with Howard University School of Law in the fight for civil rights.

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Press Releases

SJLF Pens Amicus Brief for Local Organization, Seeking to Shine Light on LA Sheriff Deputy Gang Misconduct

On July 1, 2022, the Social Justice Legal Foundation (SJLF) submitted an amicus brief which brought to light evidence that two Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) deputies—whose testimony was key to a pending case—are members of a dangerous sheriff’s gang known for fabricating evidence and violating community members’ civil rights.

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Press Releases

SJLF Files Records Request on Behalf of Silicon Valley Debug

In May 2022, SJLF began a new partnership with Silicon Valley De-Bug to challenge a mail digitization policy in San Mateo County jails.

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Press Releases

SJLF Files Amicus Brief Challenging Florida’s House Bill 1

On July 8th, 2022 SJLF filed an amicus brief on behalf of ten leading professors in the fields of local government law and local autonomy. The amicus supports a coalition of cities in Florida as they seek to challenge Florida’s House Bill 1 (“HB1”).

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Press Releases

SJLF Complaint Takes Aim at Racial Profiling and Police Misconduct in Louisiana

“My dad always said, right is right. And what happened to me just ain’t right. I want justice for me and for my community,” said Mr. Clark. “This has been going on for too long. Enough is enough.”

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Press Releases

SJLF Files Its First Complaint on Behalf of Mississippi Woman Against Louisiana Sheriff for Constitutional Violations

On Tuesday, March 22, 2022, Nia Mills, represented by SJLF and ACLU of Louisiana, sued the Sheriff of West Baton Rouge Parish and several of his officers for violations of the Fourth Amendment based on their prolonged detention and intrusive searches of her during a traffic stop.

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Press Releases

SJLF and ACLU-LA Achieve Important Milestone in the Fight Against Criminalization of the Unhoused

On January 12, 2022, SJLF and ACLU of Louisiana obtained an important legal victory in the fight to protect the constitutional rights of unhoused individuals when a federal magistrate judge in Louisiana granted their client, Deanna Thomas, leave to amend her complaint, which was later affirmed by the district court over the defendants’ objections.

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TIP in News

SJLF’s Inaugural Project Combating Police Misconduct Featured in the Daily Journal

Police misconduct is the focus of Social Justice Legal Foundation's inaugural project.

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Press Releases

Social Justice Legal Foundation Challenges Police Abuses Through Partnership with the ACLU of Louisiana

The Social Justice Legal Foundation (SJLF) is pleased to announce its first project: investigating cases of police misconduct in Louisiana.

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Case News

Settlement reached after ICE ended immigrant hotline seen in 'Orange Is the New Black'

“The hotline remains an indispensable tool in providing people in detention a secure way to report abuses and advocate for their freedom," the hotline's manager said.

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Press Releases

Social Justice Legal Foundation Announces Inaugural Class of Fellows

The Social Justice Legal Foundation is proud to announce the inaugural class of fellows from each of the five collaborating schools – Columbia, Northwestern, Stanford, UCLA and Yale law schools. Each of the incoming fellows is a scholar who has demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to public interest legal work.

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Case News

ACLU Sues Lancaster and the LASD for Criminalizing Poverty With $500 and $1,000 Citations

In Lancaster, a desert city in the northern part of Los Angeles County, local officials have come up with an unconstitutional “scheme” to punish unhoused people and other low-income residents with $500 and $1,000 fines for violating the city’s municipal code, according to a new lawsuit filed by the ACLU of Southern California and UC Irvine School of Law.

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TIP in News

Elite Law Firm And Law Schools Team Up For Social Justice Initiative

Working together to take on the important issues of our time.

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TIP in News

A Skadden Fellowship for Trial Lawyers? This Litigation Firm Wants to Cultivate the Next Generation

Hueston Hennigan has partnered with five top law schools to create the Social Justice Legal Foundation, which aims to be an incubator for the next generation of social justice-focused trial lawyers.

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TIP in News

Hueston Hennigan spurs Social Justice Legal Foundation

The foundation is a nationwide collaboration of five law schools, trial lawyers from the private sector, advisers, judges, activists and scholars. The foundation said it will emphasize trial work to advance social justice and equity.

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TIP in News

New Foundation to Help Yale Law Graduates Pursue Social Justice

Graduates from Yale Law School will be able to pursue cutting-edge social justice work through a newly launched fellowship created in collaboration with the Social Justice Legal Foundation. The Foundation seeks to identify pressing legal issues and to mentor and develop a new generation of trial lawyers in the public sector by sponsoring five promising law school graduates with two-year fellowships.

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TIP in News

UCLA Law Partners With Hueston Hennigan to Create Post-Graduate Social Justice Fellowship

UCLA School of Law is proud to announce its participation in the Social Justice Legal Foundation, an incubator for the next generation of trial lawyers in the public sector, launching today with a $10 million pledge from Hueston Hennigan LLP. The foundation will sponsor five graduates, including one from UCLA Law, as Hueston Hennigan Fellows.

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TIP in News

Northwestern Law partners with national legal foundation to advance social justice and equity

Northwestern Pritzker School of Law is one of five leading U.S. law schools collaborating with the Social Justice Legal Foundation launched today with a $10 million pledge from Hueston Hennigan LLP.

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Press Releases

National Legal Foundation to Advance Social Justice Launches With $10M Pledge and Collaboration With 5 Leading Law Schools

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE National Legal Foundation to Advance Social Justice Launches With $10M Pledge and Collaboration With 5 Leading Law Schools CONTACT INFORMATION John Hueston 949.226.6740 jhueston@hueston.com Moez Kaba 213.788.4543 mkaba@hueston.com

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Case News

Judge orders immigration detention hotline restored

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to restore a free hotline that lets detained immigrants report concerns about custody conditions, which was cut after being featured on the show "Orange Is the New Black."

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Case News

Immigration Detention Hotline Shut Down After ‘Orange Is the New Black’ Inclusion

The Freedom for Immigrants national hotline for immigrants who are in detention has been shut down after it was featured on the final season of Netflix's 'Orange Is the New Black.'

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Case News

ICE Shuts Down Hotline For Detained Immigrants After Coverage

After an episode of Netflix’s hit show ‘Orange Is The New Black” featuring inmates talking about a real-life helpline offered by a group giving legal advice to immigrants, ICE shut it down.

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Case News

Hotline for detained migrants featured on Orange is the New Black shut down

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement shut down hotline that connected detained migrants to an advocacy group

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Case News

ICE shut down a hotline for detained immigrants after it was featured on ‘Orange Is the New Black’

Immigration and Customs Enforcement shut down a real hotline for detained immigrants run by the California group Freedom for Immigrants less than two weeks after it was prominently featured on the show.

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Media Inquiries & Press

For press inquiries and information please contact media@trialimpact.org

ICE detainees were sprayed with a cleaner during COVID crisis. Now they have a settlement

A proposed settlement given preliminary approval by a judge provides compensation to six former detainees who sued over the COVID crisis-era use of a disinfectant at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center.

Case News

SJLF and Co-Counsel Submit Public Comment Warning LA County of Risks From Mail Digitization in Jails

As the Los Angeles Sheriff's Office considers adopting mail digitization in County jails, legal organizations flag concerns and ongoing litigation related to the practice.

Press Releases