CENTRAL FALLS – A lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island has resulted in the release of 25 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees at the Donald W. Wyatt Detention Facility, the ACLU announced Wednesday.
There are another 24 ICE detainees being held at the facility, the ACLU said.
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The lawsuit was filed to seek relief for immigration detainees facing the spread of COVID-19, which is present in the facility. The lawsuit argued that the conditions at Wyatt presented a danger to some detainee’s lives.
A ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Mary McElroy led to three dozen bail hearings that have taken place over three weeks, resulting in a court order to release 16 detainees conditionally. Nine detainees were released voluntarily by ICE.
The ACLU said McElroy said that conditions at Wyatt “present a case for a substantial claim of constitutional error and present facts which may lead the Court to conclude that their continued detention under these circumstances presents a substantial risk of serious harm of death,” resulting in her ruling that led to the individual bail hearings.
