Attorneys at Keker, Van Nest & Peters and the American Civil Liberties Union have filed a public report from a court-appointed monitor in a class action against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which held that ICE is in noncompliance with a federal court order.
Steven Ragland, a partner and general counsel at Keker who is representing the plaintiffs, said in an interview with The Recorder that the basic components of a “functional, constitutionally healthcare system” are “not complicated.”
“It’s staffing, access to medications, screening on intake, specialty care—things like that that are fundamental,” he said. ” … It’s just dismal. It’s really inexcusable.”
Ragland noted that CoreCivic recently announced that it was selling the California City Detention Facility to the U.S. government for $732.6 million, along with the Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego for $739.2 million.
“Money is not the issue in doing this,” he said. “It’s a lack of will or desire, and again, I’ve always believed that the cruelty is part of the point here with ICE and its contractors in order to create just an abysmal situation and force people to give up valid asylum claims and other rights they have.”
The Keker team on the case includes Steven Ragland, Cody Harris, Candice Nguyen, and Carlos Martinez.
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