Immigration Agency Sends Varick Street Detainees to Hudson County

Immigration Agency Sends Varick Street Detainees to Hudson County

“ In November, the Varick Street jail was the subject of an article in The New York Times that detailed how a petition from 100 detainees had spurred the New York City Bar Justice Center to send in free volunteer lawyers – a strategy that the Obama administration has embraced as part of its overhaul of the entire detention system. The lawyers found that most detainees with a legal claim to stay in the United States were routinely transferred to more remote jails in other states before they could be helped. Lynn M. Kelly, the director of the Justice Center , said it was unclear whether the Hudson County jail could accommodate the volunteer project. ‘We’re concerned that members of the New York community that are detained continue to have access to pro bono legal assistance, evidence for their cases, and to visits from families and loved ones,’ Ms. Kelly said. ”

The New York Times
January 15 th, 2010