The U.S. government has violated its own immigrant detention standards, denying some Salvadoran detainees access to legal materials, telephones and attorney visits, a federal judge in Los Angeles has ruled.
District Judge Margaret M. Morrow upheld a 1988 injunction mandating that Salvadorans be advised of their rights to apply for political asylum and have access to legal representation.
In her July 26 decision, Morrow ruled that because detention standards weren't always followed, the injunction must remain in place so Salvadorans could "exercise their right to apply for asylum freely and intelligently."
Although the case was filed on behalf of Salvadorans fleeing civil war in the 1980s, the injunction -- and the recent ruling -- affects all detained immigrants by highlighting the problems that exist at holding facilities across the nation.
"The government needs to do more to ensure that detained immigrants have basic rights to due process," said American Civil Liberties Union attorney Ranjana Natarajan, one of the lead attorneys for the plaintiffs.
The Department of Justice plans to appeal the decision.
"We are disappointed that the court continues to refuse to end a long-standing and unnecessary injunction," Department of Homeland Security spokesman Russ Knocke said in a prepared statement. "The civil war in El Salvador ended several years ago. Circumstances there that were the basis for the injunction no longer exist."
Knocke said that U.S. border security was more critical than ever in a post-9/11 world.
The federal injunction was issued nearly two decades ago after Salvadoran refugees accused the former Immigration and Naturalization Service of using threats and coercion to discourage them from applying for asylum.
In 2005, the Department of Justice filed a motion to end the injunction, arguing that the government had adopted procedures to ensure that detainees weren't coerced into giving up their rights. The department also argued that the situation in El Salvador had changed significantly and that Salvadoran immigrants did not deserve special treatment.
Government attorneys said the injunction interfered with its expedited removal program, which allows Immigration and Customs Enforcement to deport certain illegal immigrants without hearings.
But immigrant advocates argue that many Salvadorans still have valid asylum claims and need to be informed of their rights.
