California Prison Authorities Accused of Cooperating with ICE to Deport Non-White Immigrants

From [HERE] Criminal justice advocates and incarcerated people sued the California Department of Corrections on Thursday, claiming the agency discriminates against hundreds of people each year by assisting federal immigration agents. 

According to a lawsuit filed in Alameda County Superior Court, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation refers people in custody to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for detention and deportation after they have served their time. They say this practice contributes to a dual system of justice that targets immigrants, refugees and anyone whom officers assume was born outside the U.S.

The plaintiffs say the corrections department makes referral decisions using nothing more than their perception of an incarcerated person’s place of birth, race, ethnicity or ability to speak English. They claim the policy has led to many residents and citizens being put into the deportation pipeline based on false, racialized assumptions of their immigration status and resulted in people being blocked from rehabilitative programs that could reduce their time in custody.

Ny Nourn, co-director of plaintiff Asian Prisoner Support Committee, said she had fear and anxiety for years knowing she was under an ICE hold while incarcerated. 

“Shortly after a visit from an ICE agent, in May of 2017, on what was supposed to be my first day of freedom after being granted parole, CDCR automatically transferred me to ICE detention, where I would spend the next six months fighting deportation,” Nourn said. “CDCR continues to work with ICE to discriminate against foreign-born people like me instead of helping keep our communities safe and families together.” 

Plaintiff Roth Chan is a U.S. citizen whose family immigrated from Cambodia. When she entered custody, officials perceived her to be foreign-born and classified her as “Mexican” on prison paperwork — triggering the policy known as a “potential hold,” which state officials use to send information about people to ICE and deny them placement in prison programs. 

She claims she repeatedly notified CDCR of her U.S. citizenship but was ignored. The potential hold blocked her access to alternative-to-custody programs, rehabilitation programs and early release.

“It put me in a deep depression,” Chan said. “I would attend programs all day in prison, and by the end of the day I would cry knowing that I wasn’t earning credits for an earlier release just based on my appearance. I still have a hard time sleeping. I wonder what will happen if ICE picks me up or transfers me to an immigration detention facility.” [MORE]