NY Times critical of immigration detention abuses

Here is the editorial.

I have serious questions about the use of so called “contract” facilities for housing immigration detainees as well as federal criminal detainees.

There is a serious problem in Oklahoma with denial of access to attorneys as well as access to medical care. This past week a client’s court date was put off for 10 days because a jailer denied me access to my client. I question an arrangement whereby a county jailer at a facility that houses federal criminal detainees can not only dictate my schedule but also require a federal judge to change his docket to accomodate the whims of a jailer.

Another jail recently instituted a policy forbidding immigration lawyers from taking their multilingual staff into the facility to assist with client meetings.

In my world, I face consequences for bad behavior. My clients do as well. It’s 2009. It’s about time that detention facilities and their personnel face the consequnces the rest of us face for acting wrongfully.