Sean Mickey
BATAVIA, N.Y. — Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agreed to stop opening detainees’ legal mail at the Buffalo Federal Detention Facility in Batavia under a settlement announced by civil rights groups, ending a policy critics said violated constitutional protections.
The New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) and partner organizations sued ICE after the agency began opening mail sent from attorneys to their detained clients — communications that are generally protected as confidential.
“ICE at Batavia changed their policy to permit ICE officers there to open legal mail, and that policy very plainly violated the First Amendment,” said Amy Belsher, a supervising attorney with the NYCLU.
The lawsuit argued the policy interfered with attorney-client confidentiality and limited detainees’ ability to communicate freely with their lawyers.
ICE defended the policy in court filings, saying it was implemented after drugs and synthetic substances were allegedly smuggled into the facility through the mail, including items marked as legal correspondence. The agency said it posed a health and safety risk to detainees and staff.
According to ICE, legal mail was opened in the presence of detainees and officers were prohibited from reading the contents.
Civil rights advocates said the practice still undermined basic legal protections.
“Lawyers cannot send communications to clients that they know will be read, especially where they’re going to be read by the opposing party,” Belsher said.
Advocates also argued…
