Immigration lawyers say people arrested in California’s Central Valley have repeatedly been denied access to legal counsel as federal immigration arrests continue in the region.
Federal agents have arrested scores of people since Oct. 5, including at gas stations, supermarkets and near agricultural fields. María Sofía Corona Gómez, a directing attorney at the UFW Foundation in Fresno, said pro bono lawyers have spent hours each day seeking entry to ICE processing facilities in Fresno and, later, Bakersfield to identify detainees and advise them of their rights.
Lawyers said they sometimes gained entry only late in the day and could meet just two or three of the dozens held inside. On other days, they were not admitted. Corona Gómez said detainees were then moved within about a day to other facilities, some as far away as Texas. Attorneys also say ICE has not listed everyone arrested in its detainee locator database, leaving families and lawyers struggling to find them.
Please note! Comments are published by readers. The opinions expressed may not reflect the position of the editorial team. NYCT is not responsible for the content of readers' opinions and asks authors to observe moral standards, not to incite national or racial hatred, and to avoid rudeness. Think before you speak. You are responsible for your words! By publishing an opinion, you agree to the rules! If this request is ignored, NYCT reserves the right to deprive the user of the ability to leave comments.