Tag: Immigrant detainees

Private Prison Industry Profits From Immigrant Detentions

Private immigrant detention centers are big business. Marcela Gara reports on one immigrant family caught in the system.

Held in the Midst of Greenwich Village, Immigrants Lack Access to Counsel, Complain About Threats

By Diego Graglia, FI2W web editor
Varick immigrant detention center in Downtown Manhattan - Photo: Google Live View.

Varick immigrant detention center in Downtown Manhattan. (Photo: Google Live View)

Most of the thousands of New Yorkers who walk by the Varick Federal Detention Facility every day are probably unaware of its existence, but the immigration jail on Hudson Street in New York City’s Greenwich Village holds thousands of detainees every year.

Over one third of those detainees “had reasonable claims” for being released, but most didn’t have access to legal counsel –not guaranteed to immigrants under U.S. law– and many were shipped away from New York, some before a “volunteer lawyer could finish researching the case,” says a report released Monday by the New York City Bar Association’s Justice Center.

The document (click for pdf) –reported on first by The New York Times— also found that 90% of those who had been granted bond were unable to raise the funds necessary for their release and remained in detention.

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