Facts

Plaintiffs filed a class action against defendants for declaratory and injunctive relief and for a petition for writ of habeas corpus.

PLAINTIFFS' CONTENTIONS:
Plaintiffs alleged that they were indigent individuals who suffered from mental disabilities, who were detained by the U.S. government and forced to defend themselves in immigration courts even though they may have been incompetent do so. The plaintiffs further alleged that the government failed to provide meaningful safeguards to ensure fair hearings for mentally incompetent prisoners in immigration courts.

DEFENDANTS' CONTENTIONS:
Defendants denied the allegations of plaintiffs' claims.

Result

The court issued a permanent injunction and then, on Oct. 29, 2014, issued a further order implementing the permanent injunction. The court ordered defendants to implement a screening and information gathering system to determine class membership, which was required to include, among other things, conducting an initial mental health screening of detainees upon arrival at detention facilities. The defendants were also ordered to implement an information sharing system, whereby defendants were required to provide certain information regarding detainees' mental health to Immigration Judges. The defendants were further ordered to implement an evaluation system, in order to determine whether a class member was competent to represent him- or herself in immigration proceedings.