Fraihat v. ICE and DHS

Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse for Fraihat v. ICE

A nationwide class action lawsuit was filed August 19th, 2019 against the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and others acting in their official capacities.  The lawsuit challenges the federal government’s failure to ensure detained immigrants receive appropriate medical and mental health care, its punitive use of segregation in violation of the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, and its failure to ensure that detained immigrants with disabilities are provided accommodations and do not face discrimination as required by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

The lawsuit was filed by Disability Law United, Disability Rights Advocates (DRA), Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, and the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) in the U.S District Court for the Central District of California. The lawsuit was brought on behalf of 15 individuals detained at eight different facilities in six states, representing a class of approximately 55,000 immigrants imprisoned by ICE on any given day, and two nonprofit organizations, Al Otro Lado and the Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice (ICIJ).


Relevant Pleadings and Orders:


Notice of Court Order Requiring Custody Redeterminations:


Expert Declarations*:

*If you plan to submit these in a court filing, please note for the court that they have already been submitted in another matter.


Additional Press Coverage: