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Torture
Torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment devalue human dignity, the foundation of U.S. and international human rights law. But they still occur in the U.S. criminal and immigration systems through prolonged solitary confinement, police and prison official brutality, and deplorable conditions in prisons and immigration detention centers.
Guided by the U.S. Constitution and the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, we work to end torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment in the U.S. criminal and immigration systems.
Litigate
We go to court with human rights defenders pursuing systemic change.
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Manuel Esteban Paez Teran v. United States: Justice for murder of environmental activist
This case seeks reparative justice for the extrajudicial killing of Manuel “Tortuguita” Paez Terán, the first environmental activist in modern U.S. history to have been shot and killed by police during a protest.
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Justice for Migrant Families v. Immigration and Customs Enforcement: Exposing Abuse at the Buffalo Federal Processing Center
This lawsuit under the Freedom of Information Act seeks information on BFPC policies and practices concerning medical treatment and abuse by guards.
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K.N.N. et al v. United States of America: Stopping Torture on Deportation Flights
This case challenges the abusive use of a full-body restraint device called the WRAP during deportation flights.
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J.K.A. v. United States of America: Stopping Retaliation for Protesting Detention Center Abuses
These cases seek accountability for torture and other cruel and degrading treatment the government inflicted on individuals it held in immigration detention in Louisiana and during and after their deportation flights to Cameroon.
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Haitian Bridge Alliance v. DHS: Exposing Anti-Black Discrimination at the Border
This case is a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit seeking documents related to the mass detention and expulsion of more than 15,000 people at the U.S. southern border in Del Rio, Texas in September 2021. The majority of those expelled were Haitian and other Black immigrants.
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Transgender Law Center v. ICE: Exposing Cruel And Degrading Treatment of Trans People In Immigration Detention
This case is a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit seeking documents related to standards of care for transgender people in immigration detention.
Expose
We uncover wrongdoing in reports, complaints, and public hearings.
Educate
We inform the public and policymakers about systemic human rights abuses and how to stop them.
Our Partners
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American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
We joined forces to litigate the domestic violence case of Jessica Lenahan (Gonzales) v. United States, which prompted the IACHR to recommend strengthening U.S. domestic violence law.
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ACLU of Louisiana
Since 1956, the ACLU of Louisiana has worked to advance and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of the United States and the State of Louisiana.
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Black Diaspora Liberty Initiative
Black Diaspora Liberty Initiative is dedicated to providing vital support and resources to Black LGBTQ+ immigrants who face unique and multifaceted challenges.
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Black LGBTQIA+ Migrant Project
The Black LGBTQIA+ Migrant Project (BLMP) uses leadership development and organizing to address the ways in which trans and queer Black immigrants are criminalized by the criminal law and immigration system, and marginalized in the broader immigrant community.
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California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice (CCIJ)
CCIJ utilizes coordination, advocacy, and legal services to fight for the liberation of immigrants in detention in California.
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California Mandela Campaign
Solitary confinement is one of the most severe and destructive practices used in detention facilities. The World Health Organization, United Nations, and other international bodies have recognized solitary confinement as greatly harmful and potentially fatal. People with disabilities, pregnant people, youth, and the elderly are all at heightened risk from the harm caused by solitary…
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Center for Constitutional Rights
The Center for Constitutional Rights is dedicated to advancing and protecting the rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
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Gittis Legal Clinics
The Gittis Legal Clinics are Penn Carey Law’s teaching law firm, comprised of nine in-house clinics that offer students unique opportunities to develop essential lawyering skills and professional values.
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Global Rights Advocacy (GRA)
CCIJ utilizes coordination, advocacy, and legal services to fight for the liberation of immigrants in detention in California.
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The #HALTsolitary Campaign
The New York Campaign for Alternatives to Isolated Confinement (NYCAIC), the coalition behind the #HALTsolitary Campaign, works to end solitary confinement for all people, promote alternatives proven to better protect people’s health and safety, and build on these changes to dismantle the racial injustices and punishment paradigm that underpin the entire incarceration system.
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Immigration Equality
For 30 years, Immigration Equality has worked to secure safe haven, freedom, and equality for the LGBTQ and HIV-positive communities. Through direct legal services, policy advocacy, and impact litigation, we support immigrants who face discrimination based on who they are and whom they love.
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Immigration Services and Legal Advocacy (ISLA)
Our investigation of a Louisiana immigrant detention center highlights the egregious human rights violations found across all of ICE’s 200 jails.
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La Resistencia
La Resistencia is a grassroots organization led by undocumented immigrants and people of color that have been oppressed by the immigration enforcement system.
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Project South
Project South’s work is rooted in the legacy of the Southern Freedom Movement, and our mission of cultivating strong social movements in the South powerful enough to contend with some of the most pressing and complicated social, economic, and political problems we face today.
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Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network
The Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network (RMIAN) provides free immigration legal and social services to immigrant children and to adults in immigration detention.
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Sanctuary New Orleans Abolition Project
SNAP is a transgender-led advocacy project to prevent the systemic abuse of LGBTQI+ systems-impacted people in greater New Orleans.
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Seattle University School of Law
Seattle University is dedicated to educating the whole person, to professional formation, and to empowering leaders for a just and humane world.
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Transgender Law Center
Transgender Law Center is the largest national trans-led organization advocating self-determination for all people. Since 2002 we’ve been organizing, assisting, informing and empowering thousands of individual community members towards a long-term, national, trans-led movement for liberation.
Read the Latest
Nersisian v Harper: Fighting Disability Discrimination in Immigration Detention
Joint Submission of Coalition of Immigrant Rights Organizations to the United Nations Universal Periodic Review of the United States
Al Jazeera: Daniel Cortes De La Valle
ProPublica—Inside ICE Air: Flight Attendants on Deportation Planes Say Disaster Is “Only a Matter of Time”
The Buffalo News: Migrant crime wave? Experts and statistics tell a different story
WXXI News: Lawsuit targets mail policy at ICE’s detention center in Batavia
Letter to the U.N. Secretary-General in Advance of His Visit to Bangladesh
The Tennessean: As U.S Justice Advocates, We Hold CoreCivic Responsible for TN Understaffing Woes
Investigative Post: ICE abuse of Detainees in Batavia Facility
Help us protect human rights
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