BROWNSVILLE, Aug. 20 -- The ACLU of Texas and the ACLU National Prison Project filed a legal brief requesting that a federal court order U.S. Customs and Border Protection to stop its practice of detaining migrants in deplorable conditions without access to an attorney. The friend of the court brief was filed in support of a class-action lawsuit challenging the conditions of those detained by CBP in south Texas.
The ACLU argues that:
CBP unlawfully prohibits detainees from contacting an attorney.
Attorneys and non-profit organizations are not allowed access to individuals and are unable to inform them of their rights or offer legal representation.
Migrants are held for weeks and in some cases months in facilities where CBP is only autho...