News

Minneapolis—A federal court granted a preliminary injunction today in The Advocates for Human Rights et al. v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security et al., ordering the Trump-Vance administration to halt practices that sent individuals detained in Minnesota across the country and denied them access to lawyers while the case challenging those practices moves forward. The plaintiffs include The Advocates for Human Rights, a nonprofit legal organization that provides free immigration legal services, and L.H.M., a Minnesota resident with a pending asylum application. Democracy Forward and Fredrikson & Byron represent the plaintiffs.

The ruling extends relief for noncitizens detained at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Minnesota and safeguards critical protections, ensuring that individuals in government custody can communicate confidentially with legal counsel while the case proceeds. It builds on a temporary restraining order issued in February 2026 that restored meaningful access to lawyers for people detained in Minnesota.

The class action lawsuit alleges that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) systematically denied detained noncitizens access to legal counsel while holding them at the Whipple Building—a civilian federal building never designed or authorized for long-term detention. According to the complaint and declarations, detainees were held in overcrowded conditions without adequate facilities while officials obstructed confidential attorney-client meetings, denied phone access, and rapidly transferred individuals out of state before lawyers could reach them.

The ruling states: "Due process is not a game of keep-away. ICE recognizes detainees' right to access counsel in theory and written policy, but not in practice. Instead, it has placed obstacle after obstacle in front of detainees and their attorneys, blocking communication between clients and counsel."

"We are pleased the court recognized that immigrants in detention have a fundamental right to access to counsel," said Michele Garnett McKenzie, Executive Director at The Advocates for Human Rights. "The ability to speak freely and privately to an attorney is crucial to due process and essential to protecting people from unjust rulings, coercive detention, and life-threatening deportation."  

"Access to a lawyer is one of the most basic protections our legal system provides," said Mark Samburg, Senior Counsel at Democracy Forward. "Today's ruling is a significant victory for people who are being detained and denied that fundamental right. The court is blocking these harmful and unlawful policies while the case continues, ensuring that people in custody in Minnesota can speak confidentially with their attorneys and assert their rights. This decision sends a clear message that the administration cannot evade accountability by blocking access to counsel."

Plaintiffs brought this case to stop practices that violate the Constitution, federal law, and ICE's own detention standards by blocking confidential attorney-client communication and transferring detainees out of Minnesota before they could assert their legal rights.

The legal team at Democracy Forward on this matter includes Jeff Dubner, Anashua Dutta, Aman George, Mark Samburg, and Elena Goldstein.

Read the decision here.