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NEW YORK, NY – Today, the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU), Prisoners’ Legal Services of New York (PLS), the Robert & Ethel Kennedy Human Rights Center, and Covington & Burling LLC announced a settlement in PLS v. DHS that ensures all privileged legal mail sent to immigrants detained in the Buffalo Federal Detention Facility (commonly known as Batavia) remains secure and confidential.
“This settlement rightly affirms the First Amendment’s guarantee that lawyers and their clients have a right to confidentially communicate, without fear the government is listening,” said Amy Belsher, Director of Immigrants’ Rights Litigation at the New York Civil Liberties Union. “People trapped immigration detention, and lawyers like us, rely on written communications to relay deeply personal information about immigration cases and can be the difference between whether someone returns home to their family or faces deportation. As the Trump administration keeps arresting immigrant New Yorkers en masse and forces more people into these deplorable detention facilities, it’s essential that people’s First Amendment rights are respected and upheld.”
With this settlement, Batavia’s previous mail policy will immediately cease, and ICE officers will no longer be permitted to open privileged legal mail. Now, officials must distribute people’s legal mail within 24 hours of receipt, use a specific, secure device to scan all incoming mail, and cannot copy, retain, or open anyone’s legal mail without the intended recipient present. To ensure compliance, the settlement also gives the court continued jurisdiction to address any violations.
“This victory in PLS v. DHS affirms a fundamental principle of justice: confidential legal mail is not a privilege; it is a right,” said Karen Murtagh, Executive Director of Prisoners’ Legal Services of New York. “For immigrants detained in remote immigration facilities, such as the Buffalo Federal Detention Facility in Batavia, secure legal mail is frequently the only reliable way for clients and their attorneys to communicate. Long travel times and limited space for in-person meetings often result in attorneys and their clients using confidential legal mail to review evidence, prepare filings, and make informed decisions about their cases. Any breach of legal mail confidentiality threatens the fairness of the legal process itself. Ensuring that privileged legal mail remains secure and confidential is essential to effective representation and to upholding the integrity of our justice system.”
The organizations originally filed this lawsuit in March 2025, after Batavia officials abruptly changed the facility’s mail policy to give ICE officers permission to open people’s privileged legal mail.
“Legal mail is a lifeline for detained people,” said Sarah Gillman, Director of Strategic U.S. Litigation at the Robert & Ethel Kennedy Human Rights Center. “In facilities like Batavia that are notorious for abuse, confidential communication with attorneys is one of the only ways immigrants can get help for cruel and degrading treatment. Without a safe way to sound the alarm, detained people are left at the mercy of a broken and inhumane system.”
This litigation over Batavia’s mail policy follows a broader and longstanding pattern of abuse at the facility. For years, officials at Batavia have subjected people in detention to cruel, inhumane treatment, including the use of excessive force, rampant overcrowding, and prolonged solitary confinement. During the first Trump administration, the NYCLU sued Batavia and federal officials, successfully securing asylum seekers’ right to a parole process, reinstating fair legal hearings, and mandating protective measures for those at risk during the COVID pandemic.
All filings and case materials can be found here.