U.S. Taxpayers Have Paid At Least $1.1 Million in Attorneys' Fees to Unlawfully Detained Immigrants

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U.S. Taxpayers Have Paid At Least $1.1 Million in Attorneys' Fees to Unlawfully Detained Immigrants

Courthouse News has identified nearly 100 cases this year in which the government was ordered to pay attorney’s fees to an immigrant it unlawfully detained, totaling more than $1.1 million.

https://www.courthousenews.com/attorneys-fees-a-hidden-cost-of-trumps-mass-immigrant-detention-agenda/Open link View original on lemmy.world

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mkwt

lemmy.world

I realize this point might not be obvious:

Adults in immigration detention are not entitled to be appointed a lawyer.

To win attorneys' fees, the immigrant has to hire a private lawyer. That lawyer has to file a habeas petition. They have to win the habeas petition. A court has to find that the detention was unlawful. Then, they have to move for attorneys' fees as a sanction after the case is over, and it's an uphill battle to win that.