U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree has received several reports that attorneys have not been permitted to accompany their clients to routine check-in visits at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities in Maine.
In a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Monday, Pingree requested confirmation of whether a policy exists prohibiting legal counsel from attending routine ICE appointments, and if it does, its legal justification.
“Should this policy exist, it raises significant questions about transparency and the right to representation,” Pingree wrote. “I strongly urge you to repeal any policy that would deprive individuals of their constitutional right to due process.”
U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree hands out red roses to demonstrators at the No Kings demonstration in York, Maine. “People are angry, they want to know what to do, want to do something, they want to fight back,” she said.
The Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project, Maine’s only state-wide immigration legal services organization, and officials of the town of Scarborough, the location of ICE’s Maine field office, first reached out to Pingree’s office about this issue on Aug. 13. Now, Pingree said on a press call Monday afternoon, it “appears to be a growing trend.”
The Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project confirmed to Maine Morning Star that its clients have been denied the right to have their attorneys present at appointments at the field office over the past few months, including during check-in appointments for people who are in immigration court proceedings. Arrests at such proceedings have been reported elsewhere across the country. “In the current environment, with the federal government flagrantly disregarding due process and attempting to indiscriminately deport as many people as they can, having your attorney by your side during any ICE appointment is beyond critical,” Executive Director Sue Roche said in a statement.
Pingree, a Democrat, also formally requested a tour of the Scarborough facility in her letter, writing that local town officials have been denied entry after they raised concerns.
“Clear and consistent communication with community leaders, advocacy organizations, and local officials fosters greater transparency and ensures that enforcement operations are implemented fairly and humanely,” Pingree wrote. “Without these relationships, DHS risks deepening mistrust and eroding the very public confidence it requires to operate effectively.”
Pingree requested a written response to her letter within 30 days. She emphasized in her letter that providing casework and acting as an intermediary to executive agencies is one of the most fundamental services Congress provides to constituents.
“Blocking access to legal counsel is incompatible with our values as a nation — as well as DHS’s stated commitments to transparency, accountability, and the rule of law,” Pingree wrote.
During the press call, Pingree, who represents Maine’s first district, said that her office routinely meets with asylees in her district who have a variety of questions related to immigration status.
“We get maybe five walk-ins a day, dozens of calls during the week, on everything from the slow response on getting their work permits, which they’re legally allowed, to problems people have with their green card or family reunification,” Pingree said. “And, now, increasingly, we’re hearing from people who literally can’t find their family member.”
Movement during immigration detention is common and, as immigration attorneys previously told Maine Morning Star, it creates chaos and makes it more difficult for legal counsel to advocate for their clients and for families to keep in touch. People are often detained under ICE orders in local jails and then transferred out of state.
This story was first published by Maine Morning Star and is republished here under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Attorneys blocked from routine ICE check-ins in Maine, Pingree says