The ACLU of Maine, Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project (ILAP) and the Refugee and Human Rights Clinic (RHRC) at the University of Maine School of Law are suing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for information about its detention activities in Maine.

The FOIA lawsuit seeks information about the ICE detention facility in Scarborough and about ICE’s practice of holding immigrant detainees from other New England states at the Cumberland County Jail (CCJ). According to the lawsuit, ICE used CCJ as a short-term detention facility during the pandemic to facilitate transfers to southern states. This practice subjected immigrants in ICE custody to dangerous and unhygienic conditions during travel and in the destination facilities.  

Date filed

March 3, 2021

Court

United States District Court for the District of Maine

Status

Filed