DATE: February 18, 2021 MEDIA CONTACTS: SF Public Defender’s Office, 628.249-7946, Valerie.Ibarra@sfgov.org ACLU SoCal Communications & Media Advocacy: communications@aclusocal.org, 626-755-4129 Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area, Sam Lew, slew@lccrsf.org, 415-272-8022 Ninth Circuit Affirms Likely Constitutional Violation in Detention of Immigrants During Pandemic Rules ICE Neglected Immigrants; Upholds Order Establishing Process for Considering Release During Pandemic SAN...Read More

ICE Ordered To Protect Detainees From COVID-19 In Calif. Jail Jennifer Doherty in Law360 reported on the latest in the Zepeda-Rivas joint class action lawsuit against ICE. Federal Judge Vincent Chhabria extended court oversight of ICE over their ongoing failure and avoidance to plan and carry out safety protocols to protect people’s health at the...Read More

December 3, 2020 MEDIA CONTACTS: San Francisco Public Defender’s Office, Valerie.Ibarra@sfgov.org, (628)249-7946 ACLU SoCal Communications & Media Advocacy, communications@aclusocal.org, 626-755-4129  Court Slams ICE for Handling of COVID at Mesa Verde Blistering Order Cites Lies and ‘Deliberate Indifference’ to the Safety of Detainees SAN FRANCISCO — In a blistering federal court decision handed down today on the treatment of people...Read More

Lisa Fernandez of KTVU FOX 2 reported: California ICE detention center officials ignored COVID-19 protocols: attorneys after attorneys in the ongoing Zepeda-Rivas class action lawsuit against ICE discovered new documents showing how staff at the Mesa Verde detention center in Bakersfield, CA – operated by the private prison corporation GEO Group – failed to follow...Read More

November 11, 2020 PRESS CONTACT: Valerie Ibarra – SF Public Defender’s Office – (628)249-7946 New Documents Reveal ICE and Private Prison Contractor Exacerbates a COVID Outbreak at Immigration Detention Center Hid Risks to Immigrants In Grave Danger Due to COVID Pandemic, Misled Court SAN FRANCISCO – Last night, detained immigrants held at the Mesa Verde ICE...Read More

Andrea Castillo of the LA Times reported: ICE deliberately limited testing at Bakersfield immigration facility with COVID-19 outbreak. The San Francisco Public Defender’s Office is part of a class action suit against ICE and GEO Group for conditions in immigration detention centers during the COVID-19 pandemic, in partnership with the ACLU of Northern and Southern...Read More