Overview
- U.S. District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong ruled the government is partially blocking detainees’ access to counsel at the B-18 processing center in downtown Los Angeles.
- The preliminary injunction mandates legal visitation seven days a week with at least eight hours on weekdays and four hours on weekends and holidays.
- The order requires private rooms for closed-door attorney meetings and guarantees confidential phone calls that are not screened, recorded, or monitored.
- The judge cited evidence of unannounced closures, forced open-door meetings with guards present, and transfers to sites that bar visits, while DHS offered no immediate comment.
- The government argued detainees already have access and blamed disruptions on protests; the court denied a stay, and expedited discovery will probe roughly 15 raids and operational practices.