News & Commentary

Mario* had a long history of mental illness prior to landing in immigration custody. He struggled with schizophrenia, and had attempted suicide in the past. Despite his long history of mental illness, however, none of the various immigration officials who came into contact with him—including deportation officers, medical staff or even the immigration judge—ever thought to assess Mario’s mental health to determine whether he was competent to represent himself in his immigration case. Instead, all he got was a notation in his file that he should be transferred to a more appropriate facility for evaluation and treatment—a notation that the immigration judge in his case never even saw. The judge had no idea that Mario suffered from a serious mental illness that could affect his ability to represent himself. Mario therefore appeared for hearing after hearing, alone. He was apparently supposed to represent himself, despite his clear inability to do so.

By Beth Werlin, American Immigration Council & Kristin Macleod-Ball, American Immigration Council

By Noa Yachot, @NoaYachot

This was another banner year in Sacramento for the ACLU of California, our coalition partners and our members!

By Kiran Savage-Sangwan

By: Gabriela Rivera & Mitra Ebadolahi, ACLU of San Diego & Imperial Counties One night last summer, Patricia's mother, Marta, did not come home. She had been in poor mental health, but it was unlike her to simply disappear without a word.

The following article was published in the Los Angeles Times.

By: Sandra Hernandez

By: Jennie Pasquarella