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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEAugust 6, 2013Contact: Christina Fialho, Co-Executive Director, CIVIC 385-212-4842 (385-21-CIVIC),

CFialho@endisolation.orgVictoria Mena, Program Coordinator, Friends of Adelanto Detainees352-562-1386,V.Mena80@gmail.comACLU SoCal: Diana Rubio 213.977.5252 or drubio@aclu-sc.org

Groups Call on ICE to Reinstate Community-Based Visitation ProgramsICESUSPENDS CIVIC-AFFILIATED VISITATION PROGRAMS IN RESPONSE TO CIVICS PUBLIC CRITICISM OF

DETENTION CONDITIONS

LOS ANGELES Today, Community Initiatives for Visiting Immigrants in Confinement (CIVIC)anational group working to end the isolation and abuse of people in immigration detention throughvisitationand the ACLU of Southern California (ACLU SoCal), along with other legal serviceproviders and advocates, sent two letters requesting that ICE reinstate community visitationprograms immediately. The agency suspended the visitation programs at three detention centers inSouthern California following public comments by CIVICs co-executive director criticizing ICEstreatment of detainees.

In partnership with ICE, CIVIC helps facilitate civic groups, faith-based groups and other communitymembers to meet with people in immigration detention, many of whom are separated from theirfamilies and suffer from extreme loneliness and depression. There are currently 28 CIVIC-affiliatedgroups across the country, including two in Southern California: Friends of Orange County Detainees,which has conducted visits at the Santa Ana City Jail and James A. Musick Facility since 2012, and theFriends of Adelanto Detainees, which recently was approved by ICE and began visits at the Adelanto

Detention Center. Together, the two groups have more than 130 volunteers.

These programs were abruptly suspended on July 24th, shortly after Christina Fialho, CIVICs Co-Executive Director, published a blog post on the Huffington Post in which she criticized ICEs

treatment of LGBT detainees and called for certain reforms. In subsequent conversations with ICEsnational office, ICE made clear that it suspended the programs because of Ms. Fialhos blog post and

because of certain Facebook posts by visitor volunteers that were critical of conditions at detentioncenters. ICE requested that CIVIC and its volunteers remove the Facebook posts and cease publiccriticism of ICE.

Visitation programs have always feared speaking up when they see injustices and abuses inimmigration detention facilities for fear of retaliation from ICE or the facilities. The suspension ofthese three programs confirms those fears, explained Ms. Fialho. In the past, CIVIC has witnessedpeople in detention thrown into solitary confinement and transferred away from communities ofsupport when we speak up about basic conditions and human rights abuses. We have seen individual

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visitors who have spoken up prevented from entering detention facilities, but this is the first time wehave seen ICE take the drastic step of suspending three visitation programs in their entirety.

We dont receive funding from the government, and we never signed anything saying that wewouldnt speak up when we see abuses or when we are concerned for our friends in detention,added Victoria Mena, program coordinator for the Friends of Adelanto Detainees in California. Infact, we have done the only thing anybody would when learning about these sorts of situationswespoke up, and now we are barred from any access to the facility.

ICEs actions are contrary to ICEs stated commitment to transparency in its detention programs.ICEs 2011 Detention Standards stress ICEs support for the provision of public access to non-classified, non-sensitive and non-confidential information about its operations. The Detention

Standards recognize the importance of allowing detainees, the media, and community members tospeak freely, providing that [a]ccess will not be denied based on the political or editorial viewpoint ofthe requestor, and that facilities should not in any way retaliate against a detainee for lawful

communication with a member of the media or a member of the public. ICEs actions betray thosecommitments, and appear to be retaliation for CIVIC and its volunteers First Amendment protectedright to expression.

Theres no question that the visitation programs would still be operating today had CIVIC publiclypraised ICE, rather than criticized ICEs treatment of detainees, said Michael Kaufman, staffattorney with the ACLU of Southern California. The suspensions raise grave First Amendmentconcerns, and give the clear appearance that ICE is trying to silence its critics and shield the publicsawareness of detention conditions.

The letters request that ICE immediately reinstate the visitation programs, and issue a publicstatement explaining its actions.

To learn more about what has happened to these community-based groups, join them for a vigil

outside the Adelanto Facility (10400 Rancho Rd, Adelanto, CA), Tuesday, August 6th at 2pm.Speakers will include visitors, community and faith leaders, as well as family members with lovedones at the facility and individuals who have been detained. There are scheduled carpools to attend

the vigil, coming from as far away as Santa Barbara, Ventura, Conejo Valley, Los Angeles, OrangeCounty, and the Inland Empire.

Link to Letter from CIVIC, Friends of Orange County Detainees, and Friends of Adelanto Detainees to

ICE: http://www.aclusocal.org/civic-letter/

Link to Letter from the ACLU of Southern California and other legal service providers to ICE:

http://www.aclusocal.org/ngo-civic-support-letter/

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