FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
14 July, 2020
Media Contacts: Rebekah Entralgo, rentralgo@freedomforimmigrants.org;
Arianna Rosales, media@ilrc.org; Alex Gonzalez, alex@faithinthevalley.org.
Immigrant Advocacy Groups File Lawsuit Against City of McFarland
CALIFORNIA — Following an April decision by the city of McFarland to approve GEO Group’s request to expand immigration detention by 350 percent in Kern County, Freedom for Immigrants and the Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC) have filed a lawsuit against the city. The city of McFarland’s plans to reuse former California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation facilities for the purposes of detaining immigrants flies in the face of sustained opposition by McFarland residents and is in clear violation of California state law.
According to SB 29, the Dignity Not Detention Act, which was drafted and co-sponsored by Freedom for Immigrants and the ILRC in 2017 and codified at Civil Code section 1670.9, entities must: 1) provide at least 180 days notice before executing a permit for an immigration detention facility and 2) hold two open meetings where public comments are “solicited and heard.” The city of McFarland failed to fulfill both requirements.
“The Dignity Not Detention Act was passed to bring much needed transparency and accountability to the backdoor deals that occur between cities and corporations when setting up private immigration detention centers. These facilities invade communities and cause great harm, making it critical for community members to have a seat at the table when deciding whether or not to allow them in,” said Grisel Ruiz, supervising attorney at the Immigrant Legal Resource Center. “By violating this state law, the city of McFarland is shamelessly skirting its responsibility to answer to its community. We will not stand for the circumvention of the very law that was put in place to ensure that cities put their communities first and hold the will of the people over profits.”
“The city of McFarland has clearly violated California state law in its most recent attempt to safeguard corporate greed over the interests of its community members,” said Christina Fialho, an attorney and co-founder/executive director of Freedom for Immigrants. “Today, we have said no more. We will not allow McFarland or any city to expand immigration detention without properly engaging its own constituents.”
“In the midst of this trying and devastating time, the courageous community of McFarland gave the entire Central Valley a jolt of hope and inspiration earlier this year, until its City Council provided temporary discouragement and disappointment,” said Pastor Trena Turner, Executive Director of Faith in the Valley. “We already knew from the thousands of residents who organized and braved winter colds to urge their City officials to stand with their immigrant community instead of a multi-billion dollar corporation’s profit-at-all-cost interests, that the City’s decision was morally bankrupt. Now, thanks to legal partners and champions, we know that it was also illegal. This gives us great hope that the temporary setback McFarland residents endured in the middle of a pandemic in April was indeed just that: temporary.”
In this lawsuit, Freedom for Immigrants and the ILRC are asking the courts for revocation of the modifications of the permits approved by the city for GEO Group. Freedom for Immigrants and the ILRC are represented pro bono by Alex Westerfield, David Lee, and Elizabeth Key of Nossaman LLP.
Court documents are available upon request.
The case will be heard in federal district court. The date of the hearing is pending.
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Freedom for Immigrants is devoted to abolishing immigration detention, while ending the isolation of people currently suffering in this profit-driven system. We monitor the human rights abuses faced by immigrants detained by ICE through a national hotline and network of volunteer detention visitors, while also modeling a community-based alternative to detention that welcomes immigrants into the social fabric of the United States. Through these windows into the system, we gather data and stories to combat injustice at the individual level and push systemic change. Visit www.freedomforimmigrants.org. Follow @MigrantFreedom
The Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC) is a national nonprofit that works with immigrants, community organizations, legal professionals, and policy makers to build a democratic society that values diversity and the rights of all people. Through community education programs, legal training & technical assistance, and policy development & advocacy, the ILRC’s mission is to protect and defend the fundamental rights of immigrant families and communities.www.ilrc.org