2023 Grantees Participate in First Quarter Case Update Telephone Conversations
The Barbara McDowell Foundation monitors its grants to ensure that the funds granted by the Foundation are used as agreed upon by the social justice organization in their grant agreement with the Foundation and serve as an assurance to potential donors that their contributions to the Foundation are making an impact.
All five 2023 Grantees participated in telephone calls with Foundation President, Jerry Hartman, and Operations Director, Katie McDonald. All grantees reported that their cases are proceeding.
Immigrant Defense Project (IDP) shared that in A-J- v. Garland pending before the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, the case has been designated as the lead case regarding the impacts of California’s law for eliminating wrongful conditions. Through negotiation of the parties, several cases have been held in abeyance pending resolution of A-J-. The case is currently in mediation with a mediation session scheduled for next month. Depending on the mediation, the Department of Justice will submit their reply brief and the case will potentially be argued in the summer or fall of 2023. IDP is still waiting on decision in P-J- v. Garland, which was argued in September of 2022. The decision is expected at the end of the summer.
Judge David L. Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law indicated that their submitted first quarter report reflected their work during the First Quarter. They are currently waiting on a decision on class certification in their case.
The National Center for Youth Law (NCYL) shared that since the submission of their last report in December 2022, the NCYL team has concluded fact and expert discovery, including defending their expert depositions. NYCL is preparing to submit a motion for summary judgment. While NCYL is still awaiting a decision on the motion to dismiss, they are continuing to prepare for trial that is currently slated for May.
Northwest Immigrant Rights Project shared that the case is currently stayed as the parties engage in settlement discussions. Due to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and Executive Office of Immigration Review’s (EOIR) policies and practices that unlawfully deny work authorization for asylum seekers while their claims are pending adjudication beyond six months. Due to USCIS’ and EOIR’s unlawful practices preventing them from qualifying for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD), also called a work permit, these individuals seeking protection from persecution are unable to work and find themselves in dire financial straits. By regulation, the running of this 190-day waiting period for employment authorization – referred to as “the asylum EAD clock” – may be suspended only for applicant-caused delays in their immigration cases. USCIS has already agreed to amend their policy to address the asylum EAD clock for individuals whose cases are remanded after successful appeals and has updated their website accordingly to clarify that these individuals will be credited with the total number of days on appeal toward their 180-day EAD clocks.
Uptown People’s Law Center shared that after several COVID-related delays, during the weeks of October 17 and October 31, the Uptown People’s Law Center (UPLC) team of retained experts (nationally recognized expert on the mental deterioration caused by solitary confinement, Craig Haney; and former Washington State Director of Corrections, Dan Patcholke) completed a tour of seven prisons in Illinois, including both a physical inspection of the solitary units and interviews with over 300 prisoners.
The next step was for the experts to review the disciplinary and mental health treatment files of a sampling of prisoners they interviewed and review updated policies and procedures. The Illinois Department of Corrections defendants were to have produced those documents a few weeks after the tours ended. Defendants did not produce the documents on time, and just finally began rolling production last week. Once those documents are finally fully produced, then the experts will do their review and draft their final reports.
In the interim, UPLC just learned at the beginning of March that the Director of the Department of Corrections, Rob Jeffreys, had resigned. UPLC awaits word on who the new Director will be, and what his attitude will be towards the continued overuse of solitary confinement.