PHILIPSBURG, PA— Judge Stephanie L. Haines of the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania has granted a preliminary injunction against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and various government officials, requiring the defendants to provide individuals detained at the Moshannon Valley Processing Center (MVPC) immediate virtual access to the New Jersey court system.

The ruling will halt a policy that prohibited individuals detained at the remote Pennsylvania detention facility from virtually appearing at criminal court hearings in New Jersey by barring access to Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or the telephone, even though such technology is readily available and routinely used at MVPC for immigration court appearances.

The U.S. District Court recognized that “deprivations [of access to criminal court proceedings] are illegal under the United States Constitution,” and that such deprivations result in “consequential harms.” Noting that “when ICE assumes legal authority over an individual, it includes responsibility for the individual’s rights and protections,” the U.S. District Court ordered the defendants to “immediately function in compliance with the tenants of the United States Constitution” by granting the individuals detained at MVPC access to the courts. This is the first time a court has considered the constitutionality of ICE’s policy denying detained noncitizens virtual access to their state criminal court proceedings. MVPC is one of the largest detention facilities in the country, and there are other facilities that also implement this harmful policy and practice.

As Plaintiff Josefina Doe explained, “this achievement is for all of the women who were with me at Moshannon and who cried because they could not present their cases to the court. And my heart breaks for the women who were already deported, or held for too long, without being heard. I am home today because, due to this lawsuit, I was able to access court for the first time, and the charges against me were dismissed at my first appearance. That allowed me to secure bond and be released. Every single person deserves the same chance.”

The Lowenstein team includes Gavin J. Rooney, Naomi D. Barrowclough, Natalie J. Kraner, Alexander Shalom, Anish Patel, Noemi S. Schor, and Ruth Fong Zimmerman.