ICE To Use Less Shackles On Immigrants During San Francisco Hearings After Class-Action Lawsuit

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will no longer shackle immigrants during court hearings before judges in San Francisco, excluding one type of preliminary hearing involving large groups of detainees, according to the Associated Press. The news comes after the agency reached a settlement with American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California, which had filed a class-action lawsuit in 2011 against the agency’s chaining of detainees at the waist, wrist and ankles, which the ACLU calls “unnecessary” and “inhumane”.

In a press release, the ACLU trumpeted the settlement as a victory, saying it would provide “basic dignity to immigrants” – the majority of whom, it said, were peaceful, and who in some cases had suffered domestic violence or trauma in the past – “during some of the most decisive moments of their detention”. It added that they expected the settlement to “directly affect more than 6,000 immigration detainees over the next three years and to be a model for litigation and policy across the United States.”

The AP notes that under the settlement, detained immigrants will now only be shackled and chained at bond or merits hearings if ICE deems them a safety threat or at risk of escaping. Immigration and Customs refused requests from the AP to comment on the settlement – which is set to be confirmed by a federal judge on Thursday – but released a statement saying it was "committed to preserving the dignity and welfare of all those in our custody” and “obligated to ensure the safety of the public and employees visiting or working in federal buildings that house court proceedings."