Filed: August 3, 2010
(formerly known as Franco-Gonzalez v. Napolitano)
The ACLU of Arizona is co-counsel on this case with the ACLU of Southern California, ACLU Immigrants' Rights Project, ACLU of San Diego, Public Counsel, Mental Health Advocacy Services, the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project and Sullivan & Cromwell, LLP. Plaintiffs are mentally ill immigrants detained in Arizona, California and Washington asking the court to require the federal government to provide independent competency evaluations for individuals who may be suffering from a mental illness and to appoint counsel in cases where one cannot represent themselves on account of their disability. Plaintiffs prevailed on key issues including class certification and preliminary injunctions, culminating in partial summary judgment ordering the government to appoint “Qualified Representatives” for class members who are incompetent to represent themselves and to provide a fair hearing where the government must prove that further detention is warranted for any class member who has been detained for more than six months. On October 29, 2014 the court issued an order requiring the government to conduct mental health screenings of detainees, provide information regarding detainees’ mental health to immigration judges, and establish a specified system for inquiring into and evaluating the competency of detainees to represent themselves. On March 2, 2015, the court appointed a special monitor for 25 months to ensure the government’s compliance. The Court has granted preliminary approval of a partial settlement in the case, which creates a path for reopening the immigration cases of class members who were ordered deported after November 21, 2011 and who did not receive the full benefits of the Permanent Injunction and Implementation Plan Order. Read the Summary Notice here.
Update: September 2015 — The Court granted final approval of the partial settlement in the case, clearing the way for class members to seek to reopen their immigration cases if they were ordered deported between November 21, 2011 and January 27, 2015, and did not receive the full benefits of the Permanent Injunction and Implementation Plan Order.
