The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania has filed a federal complaint with the Department of Homeland Security’s Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties over the treatment of a Mauritanian national, Mr. Niang, who is seeking political asylum in the United States. Throughout this process and his detention by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Mr. Niang has faced numerous rights violations and a myriad of issues related to inadequate language services from the department and ICE.
For instance, Mr. Niang spent 41 days in immigration detention before being presented for his first immigration hearing, during which time no one from ICE explained anything about his situation to him in a language he understood. This included why he was being detained, what forms and papers ICE had provided him, or whether he could read the paperwork.
Furthermore, Mr. Niang was not provided access to the law library or to any staff, resources, or individuals that could help him fill out his asylum application. Because Mr. Niang only speaks Pulaar and cannot read or write in any language, he was unable to complete his asylum application and was nearly deported despite a strong asylum claim.
ICE then interfered with Mr. Niang’s access to counsel by repeatedly transferring him and failing to inform his pro bono attorney where he had been sent. ICE never told Mr. Niang where it was sending him in a language he understood. ICE’s treatment of Mr. Niang violated his constitutional rights, executive orders related to language access, DHS’s own language access plan, and ICE’s Performance-Based National Detention Standards.
The Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties completed an investigation of Mr. Niang’s case earlier this year. We are asking the office to reopen the case as new and more robust evidence has been uncovered regarding the rights violations suffered by Mr. Niang.
