WIVB4 reports that ICE agents working at the Buffalo Federal Detention Facility in Batavia will no longer have access to confidential mail belonging to detainees following a court settlement. The lawsuit was originally brought against the Department of Homeland Security and the Batavia facility following allegations that the facility revised its policy to permit ICE officials to open detainees’ privileged legal mail. Announced by the New York Civil Liberties Union, Prisoners’ Legal Services of New York, the Robert & Ethel Kennedy Human Rights Center, and Covington & Burlington LLC, the decision requires ICE officials to distribute mail within 24 hours of receipt, use a “secure device” to scan mail, and prevent officials from accessing mail without the recipient present.

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