Trump Administration Blocking Free Legal Help for Immigrants, Say Lawyers
ICE accused of creating barriers for people seeking help.

Reuters / Jim Forsyth
The Trump administration is blocking detained immigrants from free legal services, a group of lawyers have alleged. The formal complaint was filed by by RAICES, a nonprofit immigrant legal-services group, which accused Immigration and Customs Enforcement of intentionally creating barriers for people held at detention facilities to meet with legal teams. The alleged tactics include not making space available for private meetings with clients and setting new requirements for lawyers to meet with clients, according to NBC News. “ICE drastically changed its policies recently in a way that significantly limits the ability of pro bono attorneys to work with detained persons at Karnes [detention facility],” the legal group alleged. An ICE spokeswoman insisted that “no standard provisions have been changed at Karnes” and claimed it provided 12 hours of legal visitation daily.
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