Improved Phone Access in Future Immigration Law

A federal class-action lawsuit regarding immigrant detainee access to phones was recently settled and, although the case took place in California, it could have far reaching consequences for immigrants in the U.S. Most immigrants use their phone calls to inform families or immigration lawyers to begin the immigration bond process. Most have seen the almost clichéd scene in which a detainee requests a phone call while in custody, but the reality is that those phones calls are the only lifeline that detainees have, which, until this settlement, they were not as easily accessible as often as once thought. The possibility of a new immigration law is about to change all of that.

Until recently, getting access to a phone call was an uphill battle that involved purchasing a prepaid card, ensuring that the immigration lawyer was registered to received calls from the detention center, and then hoping that the call would be answered.

One of the fundamental rights given to U.S. citizens is the right to a fair trial and a competent defense; and some argue that while on U.S. soil, immigrants should be given this right as well. Allowing immigrants to call immigration lawyers, government agencies, and immigration bond professionals is essentially allowing them the fairness to defend themselves.

Immigrants are not entitled to legal representation like U.S. citizens, so it is imperative that they are given access to phones and means of communication in order to seek legal advice from immigration lawyers and immigration bondsmen.

Although this case is a small step in the State of California, the precedent might lead to greater changes in the United States for future immigrant detainees.