Court Cases

On April 3, 2020, the ACLU of Pennsylvania and the law firm Dechert LLP filed a federal civil rights lawsuit on behalf of 22 people who are held in immigration detention in two county jails in the commonwealth.

A federal civil rights lawsuit against Immigration and Customs Enforcement arguing that ICE has violated the constitutional rights of 13 people in immigration detention who are at heightened risk of contracting COVID-19 (coronavirus) due to age and/or serious health conditions.

On February 24, 2020, the ACLU of Pennsylvania and volunteer attorneys from the law firm Dechert LLP filed a federal habeas petition on behalf of Julio Ortega Campoverde of Allentown, who has been held in federal immigration detention in York County Prison since August 2018. In November 2019, an immigration judge issued a bond order of $10,000 for his release, without consideration of Mr. Ortega Campoverde's ability to pay. The petition argues that, by failing to consider his limited income, the immigration judge violated Mr. Ortega Campoverde's constitutional guarantees of due process and equal protection under the law.

On February 12, 2020, the ACLU of Pennsylvania and volunteer attorneys filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the borough of Jim Thorpe, Carbon County, and two borough police officers over a traffic stop that occurred in February 2018.