×
You've used up your 3 free articles for this month. Subscribe today.
ICE Settles Suit Over Opening Detainees’ Legal Mail
Loaded on April 1, 2026
by Chuck Sharman
published in Prison Legal News
April, 2026, page 48
Filed under:
Legal Mail,
Attorney Visits,
First Amendment, rights,
Immigration Detention,
Attorney/Client.
Location:
New York.
by Chuck Sharman
On January 9, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York granted approval to a settlement agreement by federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and its parent agency, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), resolving claims by three nonprofits providing …
Full article and associated cases available to subscribers.
As a digital subscriber to Prison Legal News, you can access full text and downloads for this and other premium content.
Already a subscriber? Login
More from this issue:
- Alabama’s Non-Solution to the Crisis Overtaking Its Prisons, by Douglas Ankney
- Colorado Governor Tells Lawmakers to Open New Prison
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- $667,000 Awarded to Muslim Missouri Prisoners Pepper-Sprayed for Praying, by Chuck Sharman
- Former Maine Prison Official Stole $2.4 Million Through Fraudulent Supply Orders
- Virginia Jail Suicide Results in $950,000 Settlement, Claims Against Wellpath still Pending, by Chuck Sharman
- The Cells Inside ‘One of the Most Archaic Prisons in the United States’, by Shakeil Price
- Massachusetts Settles Lawsuit with Promise to Release Jail Voting Data, by Chuck Sharman
- In Texas, Harris County Commissioners Approve $1.2 Million for Fourth Study of Jail Since 2020 After Dozens of Abuse Allegations, by Matthew Clarke
- “Large Fight” Broke Out at Alaska Prison After Downsizing Effort, by Jo Ellen Knott
- $1 Million Paid by Cuyahoga County for Detainee’s Preventable Suicide in Cleveland Jail, by Chuck Sharman
- Class Certification Granted to Suit Challenging Suspension of HALT Act in New York Prisons, by Chuck Sharman
- ICE Jails Denied Muslim Detainees’ Right to Celebrate Ramadan
- More Measles Cases Detected at Jails in New Mexico and Texas, by Jo Ellen Knott
- California Spends $300 Million Each Year Incarcerating Senior Citizens in Women’s Prisons, by Victoria Law
- Idaho Struggles to Respond to Devasting Report of Widespread Prisoner Sex Abuse, by Chuck Sharman
- Houston Jail Renews $38 Million Contract to Outsource Detainees to Private Lockups
- $2.75 Million Paid by Washington County and NaphCare for Jail Detainee’s Suicide, by Chuck Sharman
- Ohio Supreme Court Awards Prisoner $1,000 for Denied Records Request, by Chuck Sharman
- Texas Attorney General Clarifies Scope of Statute Requiring Outside Agency Investigation of Jail Deaths, by Matthew Clarke
- $1.5 Million Class-Action Settlement Reached in Texas Jail Over-Detention Case, by Chuck Sharman
- Missouri Prisons Called Out for Incomplete Death Records, Hellish Solitary Heat, by Chuck Sharman
- D.C. Judge Blocks Transfer of Biden-Commuted Federal Death Row Prisoners to “Supermax,” Citing Lack of Meaningful Due Process, by Matthew Clarke
- Eighth Circuit Revives Lawsuit Over Iowa Jail Detainee’s Suicide, by Matthew Clarke
- Oklahoma County Officials Move to Dissolve Jail Trust Created for Oversight
- Almost $1 Million in Settlements Paid to Three Nevada Prisoners, by Chuck Sharman
- Two Texas Women Charged for Using Plastic Crows in Smuggling Scheme
- Fourth Circuit to BOP Prisoner: Any “Disqualifying Offense” Means Zero FSA Credits, by Chuck Sharman
- California County Hires New Healthcare Company After Jail Deaths Under Wellpath
- New Illinois State Law Requires Prisons to Submit Annual Hospice Reports, by Michael Thompson
- At This Prison, Staffing Fluctuations Land Hardest on Lifers, by Jeffrey Shockley
- Internal Assessment Contradicts Public Claims About Women’s Prisons, by Michael Thompson
- Five Prisoners in Georgia Injured in Fight, Two Months After Three Prisoners Were Killed
- Groundbreaking Statistical Study of Pregnant Texas Jail Detainees Finds Over 400 Monthly, by Matthew Clarke
- Hawai’i Settles Prison Mental Healthcare Class-Action With $100,000 in Attorney’s Fees and Expert Inspection That Produces Damning Report, by Chuck Sharman
- Faults Found with Centurion in Kansas Four Years Ago Are Still Not Fixed, by Michael Thompson
- Montana Switches to Sending Prisoners to a Private Prison in Mississippi
- Death of Washington Jail Standards Bill Risks Repeat of $2.5 Million Settlement That Closed One County’s Jail, by Chuck Sharman
- $950,000 Settlement Reached for Pennsylvania Jail Detainee Repeatedly Pepper-Sprayed During Mental Health Episodes, by Chuck Sharman
- Unsafe Drinking Water at Multiple Texas Prisons Highlights Lack of Transparency, by Matthew Clarke
- First Circuit Revives Federal Prisoner’s Claim Against Rhode Island Lockup, by Chuck Sharman
- $10.3 Million Paid for Teen’s Death at Kansas Juvenile Detention Facility, by Chuck Sharman
- The Same Company that Built Guantanamo Bay Is Building Kansas City’s World Cup Jail
- ICE Settles Suit Over Opening Detainees’ Legal Mail, by Chuck Sharman
- Survey of Arkansas Jails Reveals Strained, Costly Health Care System, by Abbey Kim
- Federal Jury Awards $1,670,000 for Diabetic Detainee’s Preventable Death in Philadelphia Jail, YesCare Reaches Separate Confidential Settlement, by Chuck Sharman
- Mississippi DOC Retains Law Firm to Monitor VitalCore Contract, by Michael Thompson
- Idaho DOC Transfers Prisoners to Arizona Facility Run by CoreCivic
- Digital Tablet Shift Brings Added Cost, Lost Data to Prisoners in California
- Wisconsin’s Incarcerated Population Has More Access to Opioid Treatment, But Still Missing in Eight County Jails
- ICE Taps New Contractor to Run Deadly Detention Center in Texas
- More Than 40k 311 Calls From Rikers Go Into a Black Hole Every Year, by Reuven Blau, Kennedy Sessions
- Prisoners in Oklahoma Can Now Buy Vapes, Pouches from Commissary
- Watchdog Report Finds More than 1,500 Waiting for Specialty Care at Connecticut Prisons
- Tulsa Jail Withholds Records Related to Detainee Deaths
- Judge Orders Rikers Manager Must Fix Jail in Seven Years Or Less
- Analysts Recommend Closing California’s Soledad Prison
- Private Company Investigating Rapes at California ICE Detention Center Instead of Sheriff
- News in Brief
- Officials in Kansas Allow CoreCivic to Reopen Leavenworth Prison
More from Chuck Sharman:
- $3.75 Million Paid by Wisconsin After Mentally Ill Prisoner Dies of Dehydration, Oct. 1, 2026
- Ninth Circuit Rules Favorably for Washington Prisoner Whose Writing Submission Was Censored, Oct. 1, 2026
- California Supreme Court Bail Ruling Cuts Some Jail Headcounts, Oct. 1, 2026
- $700,000 Paid by West Virginia for Jail Death, Claims Against Wexford Health Pending, Oct. 1, 2026
- BOP Prisoner’s Claim Over Denied Medical Care Ruled Impermissible Bivens Extension, Oct. 1, 2026
- $250,000 Paid by Nevada to Former Prisoner Denied Colonoscopy Who Developed Stage IV Cancer, Oct. 1, 2026
- $5 Million Paid by Washington for Attempted Rape of Seattle Woman by Mentally Ill Prisoner Released to Halfway House, Oct. 1, 2026
- Prisoners At Indiana’s “Speedway Slammer” Settle Conditions Suits for $1.2 Million, Whistleblower Alleges Staff Mistreatment, Oct. 1, 2026
- $4,000 Awarded to Ohio Prisoner for Denied Records Requests, Oct. 1, 2026
- Maryland Pays $314,000 for Stonewalling Public Records Requests in Prisoner’s Dehydration Death, Oct. 1, 2026
More from these topics:
- GEO Group Funnels Millions to Trump PAC Following Windfall ICE Contracts, Oct. 1, 2026. GEO Group/Wackenhut, Contractor Misconduct, Government Misconduct, Bribery/Extortion/Theft, Immigration Detention.
- Prisoners At Indiana’s “Speedway Slammer” Settle Conditions Suits for $1.2 Million, Whistleblower Alleges Staff Mistreatment, Oct. 1, 2026. Work Conditions/Safety, Medication, Settlements, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Immigration Detention.
- Ninth Circuit Refuses to Stay Injunction in Detainees’ Challenge to Conditions at California ICE Lockup, Oct. 1, 2026. GEO Group/Wackenhut, Sanitation, Injunctions, Fifth Amendment, Immigration Detention.
- Ninth Circuit Rules Favorably for Washington Prisoner Whose Writing Submission Was Censored, Oct. 1, 2026. Retaliation, Qualified Immunity, Mail Regulations, Censorship, First Amendment, rights.
- San Francisco Jail Survey Exposes Abuse, Malnutrition and Constitutional Violations, Oct. 1, 2026. Failure to Protect (General), Food, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Attorney Visits, Pretrial Detention and Detainees.
- CoreCivic’s Non-Binding Promises Leave Minnesota City Exposed, Oct. 1, 2026. Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, Cost of Prison Systems, Tax Law, Contractor Liability, Immigration Detention.
- GAO Report on ICE Jail in Fort Bliss Finds Independent Failures, Sept. 1, 2026. Contractor Misconduct, Overcrowding, Security Systems, Americans with Disabilities Act, Immigration Detention.
- HRDC Wins Injunction Against Minnesota DOC Policy Banning Its Publications, Sept. 1, 2026. Injunctions, Publications/Books, Censorship, First Amendment, rights, HRDC Litigation.
- New ICE Detention Standards Appear Designed to Help GEO Group Avoid Paying Wages, Sept. 1, 2026. GEO Group/Wackenhut, Contractor Misconduct, Prison Labor, Immigration Detention.
- States Claim to Invest in “Humane” New Prisons— But Prisons Were Never Humane, Sept. 1, 2026. Retaliation for Organizing, Hunger Strikes, Protests, Failure to Treat, Immigration Detention.

