Keeping Counsel: Challenging Immigration Detention Transfers as a Violation of the Right to Retained Counsel

In 2019 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) incarcerated nearly 500,000 individuals. More than half of the individuals detained by ICE were transferred between detention facilities, roughly thirty percent those moved federal circuit court jurisdictions. Detention transfers are isolating, bewildering, scary for noncitizen their family. They can devastate noncitizen’s legal defense destroying an existing attorney-client relationship or ability to obtain representation. Transfers also obstruct gather evidence may prejudicially change governing case law. This Note describes framework non-legal impacts. It contends that violate noncitizens’ constitutional statutory rights retained counsel obstructing relationship. Further, it argues courts have jurisdiction review right challenges under Nationality Act. Written with practitioners in mind, this canvasses practical difficulties making such a challenge.