Ansly Damus has been locked up for one year, four months, and counting. Held behind bars by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he has not been outside for more than a year. His crime? In October 2016, Damus fled violent, political persecution in Haiti. When he arrived in the U.S., he presented himself to immigration authorities and applied for asylum. He passed his “credible fear” interview. And then a judge granted him asylum — not once, but twice.

Damus committed no crime, and yet the U.S. government has put him behind bars. He’s not alone — thousands of other asylum seekers are also being held in jails across the country.

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Today, the ACLU filed a class action lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s pattern of illegally locking up immigrants who are seeking asylum in the United States. The plaintiffs are fleeing persecution, torture, or death in their countries of origin. Like Damus, they all followed procedure and presented themselves at the border to apply for asylum, were screened by a government official, and found to have a credible asylum claim that should be heard in court. Instead of offering a humane response, the Trump administration has locked them up indefinitely while their cases are adjudicated.

The arbitrary imprisonment of people like Damus is part of the administration’s larger strategy of deterring immigrants from seeking refuge in the U.S. even though our laws permit them to. This same cruel and abusive deterrence strategy underlies tactics like brutally separating parents from their children, and criminally prosecuting individuals who cross the border to seek asylum.

The administration’s detention of asylum seekers is not only cruel and wasteful. It violates the Constitution, breaks U.S. immigration laws and international law, and goes against the Department of Homeland Security’s written policy.

The Fifth Amendment prohibits the government from depriving any person, regardless of citizenship, of their liberty without due process of law. Due process requires a valid reason for putting a person behind bars, and it also requires that meaningful procedures are in place to make sure detention actually serves those goals. The Constitution does not permit the government to take people’s liberty away arbitrarily, regardless of whether the Trump administration wants to send a message that asylum seekers “need not apply.”

Moreover, immigration laws require the government to consider the facts in each case to determine if the individual is a flight risk or a danger to public safety before it detains that person. Similarly, international law prohibits the use of detention to deter asylum seekers from pursuing their claims, without an individualized determination that detention is justified because the person is a danger or flight risk. But the administration is jailing asylum seekers without providing them a meaningful opportunity to show that they don’t need to be locked up in the first place.

Finally, the indiscriminate detention of asylum seekers violates the Department of Homeland Security’s own policies. In 2009, the Obama administration issued a directive instructing ICE Field Offices to grant release on humanitarian parole to asylum seekers, provided that they met a series of stringent requirements: pass their credible fear screening (an interview in which an immigration official determines whether there’s a “significant possibility” the person is eligible for asylum); prove their identity; pose no danger to the community; and provide an address where they will be living and commit to appearing for court dates.

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This directive is still in place. Yet in practice, people are being illegally detained for months on end, even though they met the directive’s requirements.

Ansly Damus, for example, poses no danger to anyone and has strong claims for protection under our laws. He is an ethics teacher from Grand-Rivière-du-Nord in Haiti and was forced to flee Haiti because of political persecution by “La Meezorequin,” known as the Shark Bones Army, an armed gang that supported a local official, Benjamin Ocenjac. In one of his seminars, he cited Ocenjac as an example of a politician who had used gangs to terrorize the population. As retribution, members of La Meezorequin attacked Damus while he was riding home on his motorcycle, beat him, set his motorcycle on fire, and threatened to kill him. Fearing for his life, he fled Haiti 10 days later.

In October 2016, Damus traveled to the border at Calexico, California, presented himself to the immigration authorities, and requested asylum. After interviewing him, an asylum officer verified that he had a credible asylum claim and referred him for a hearing before an immigration judge. The judge then granted him asylum twice. But because the government appealed each asylum grant, he’s been locked up ever since in a detention facility in Chardon, Ohio, where detainees are kept in windowless rooms. “I have not breathed fresh air or felt the sun on my face,” he says, “and I never know if it is cold or hot outside, if the sun is out, and if the seasons are changing.”

Damus’ case reflects a nationwide problem. Our lawsuit focuses on five ICE field offices covering detention centers in California, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas. In 2013, these field offices granted 95 percent of asylum seekers’ applications for humanitarian parole. Since Trump took office, their rates of parole grants have dropped to nearly zero. It’s estimated that more than 1,000 asylum seekers have been denied humanitarian parole in these five ICE districts alone.

Immigrants like Ansly Damus are exactly the people the directive was designed to protect, yet the Trump administration is ignoring it entirely. Donald Trump may want to keep immigrants out of America, but he is not above the law or the Constitution as he pursues his inhumane agenda.

The Trump administration’s decision to indefinitely lock up asylum-seekers, instead of releasing them on humanitarian parole while their cases are decided, is ruining lives across the country. It’s estimated that more than 1,000 asylum seekers have been denied release in the five ICE districts named in our lawsuit alone.

Before arriving at the U.S. border, our clients led lives that were strikingly different from one another. These men and women represent five different countries; some are teenagers and some are grandparents. Before they were “asylum seekers,” they were teachers, software engineers, drivers, and students.

But at some point, all of them encountered a level of danger so great that it forced them to flee their homes and countries. They arrived to the United States looking for safety.

All of our clients have proved their identity, passed a government screening, and have sponsors to live with in the U.S. while their cases are decided. DHS’s own policies stipulate that asylum seekers should be released under “humanitarian parole” as their cases are decided, provided they meet a series of strict requirements. But under the Trump administration, rates of parole grants have plummeted and asylum seekers are being categorically jailed without due process.

Ansly Damus
Ansly, an ethics teacher in his early 40s, fled violence and political persecution in Haiti after speaking out against the corruption of a local politician. He was attacked by a local gang whose members severely beat him, set his motorcycle on fire, and threatened to kill him. Fearing for his life, Ansly fled Haiti, leaving behind his wife, eight-year-old daughter, and four-year-old son. Ansly not only passed his screening, an immigration judge has granted his application twice. However, in each instance, the U.S. government appealed the decision, extending his case proceedings. Ansly is currently locked up in Geauga County Safety Center in Chardon, Ohio, where immigrant detainees are kept in windowless rooms, and he has not been allowed outside in 16 months.

Alexi Ismael Montes Castro
Alexi, an 18-year-old, fled Honduras after being harassed, beaten and threatened at gunpoint because he is gay. Fearing for his life, Alexi requested asylum in November 2017. Even though an immigration officer found he has a credible fear of persecution, Alexi has been detained for approximately four months. Without even interviewing him, ICE denied Alexi’s release, even though he has a relative in Virginia with whom he can stay while his case is decided. Alexi is currently detained at the York County Prison in York, Pennsylvania.

Abelardo Asensio Callol
Abelardo, a software engineer and project manager for a specialized computer services company belonging to the Ministry of Tourism, fled Cuba after being persecuted by the government. After refusing to join the Cuban Communist Party (CCP) and attend a rally held in memory of Fidel Castro, the Ministry of Tourism removed Abelardo from his position as a project manager. Government officers then came to his home and accused him of various crimes and holding anti-government opinions. In December 2017, Abelardo passed his credible fear interview, but ICE denied him parole without ever interviewing him. He has since submitted several requests to ICE to submit additional documentation that would establish his identity, he is not a flight risk, and has sponsors in the U.S. with whom he can live while his case is decided. Abelardo is currently detained at the York County Prison in York, Pennsylvania.

A.M.M. and H.A.Y.
A.M.M. and H.A.Y. are a husband and wife seeking asylum in the United States after fleeing dangerous criminal elements in Mexico. In October 2017, an armed wing of a criminal cartel in Mexico began targeting their family, seeking to take control of the family’s house, cattle, and farm. The cartel members repeatedly came to their home looking for A.M.M. and threatened to kill him. Fearing for their lives, the couple came to the United States in December 2017. In February 2018, the El Paso ICE Field Office denied both H.A.Y.’s and A.M.M.’s requests for humanitarian parole, even though they had established their identities, identified a sponsor with whom they could live, and shown that they pose no flight risk or danger to the community. The couple is currently detained separately; H.A.Y. is locked up at the El Paso Processing Center in El Paso, Texas and A.M.M. is at the Otero County Processing Center in Chaparral, New Mexico.

L.H.A.
After L.H.A., a 22-year-old refused to join a gang in El Salvador, gang members threatened to kill him and his family. They demanded a monthly payment in exchange for staying alive. Fearing for his life, L.H.A. came to the United States in May 2016 and presented himself to immigration authorities in El Paso, Texas. On June 14, 2017, L.H.A. applied for parole, but the El Paso ICE Field Office denied L.H.A.’s request, even though he had established his identity, identified a sponsor with whom he could live, and shown he poses no flight risk or danger to the community. L.H.A. has been detained for more than twenty-one months. He is currently locked up at the El Paso Processing Center in Texas.

E.E.C.S.
E.E.C.S., a 23-year-old, fled El Salvador after being targeted by both MS-13 and the Salvadoran police. MS-13 gang members tried to recruit E.E.C.S. to join them, and when he refused, they beat and threatened to kill him. The police also targeted E.E.C.S. because his cousin is a leader of MS-13. Fearing for his life, he left the country, and presented to U.S. immigration authorities in December 2017, stating his desire to seek asylum. The Los Angeles ICE Field Office denied E.E.C.S.’s request for humanitarian parole, even though he has established his identity, identified a sponsor who he could live with, and shown that he poses no flight risk or danger to the community. E.E.C.S. is currently detained at the James A. Musick detention facility in Irvine, California.

L.I.L.M.
L.I.L.M., a 31-year-old father of two, is seeking asylum in the United States after fleeing a dangerous criminal cartel in Mexico. Members of the cartel kidnapped L.I.L.M.’s two brothers and threatened to kill him and his family. When L.I.L.M. investigated their disappearance, the cartel members came to his family home with guns and threatened to “disappear” him if he did not stop. Fearing for his life, L.I.L.M sought asylum in San Ysidro, California in October 2017. After passing his asylum screening, L.I.L.M. submitted two requests for parole, including evidence of his identity and letters of support from a family member who can serve as his sponsor. The Los Angeles ICE Field Office orally denied both his parole requests without providing him any explanation or written decision. L.I.L.M. has been detained for over four months and is currently locked up at the James A. Musick detention facility in Irvine, California.

Sarah Hinger, Staff Attorney, ACLU Racial Justice Program & Jennifer Bellamy, Washington Legislative Office

On Monday, the White House announced the creation of a Federal Commission on School Safety, chaired by Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, to recommend proposals for school violence prevention. Included in the mandate of DeVos’ commission is a starkly worded objective: “Repeal of the Obama Administration’s ‘Rethink School Discipline’ policies.”

It’s fair to wonder what this plan is doing on a list of items supposedly responding to school shootings. Prior school discipline history does not indicate that a youth will commit a school shooting. In Parkland, discipline policies did not thwart the district from taking action, and the attacker had been expelled from school. In fact, while most perpetrators of school shootings are white, children of color and students with disabilities are the ones disproportionately subject to school discipline.

These race and disability-based disparities prompted the Obama-era Department of Education to issue school discipline guidance to combat this bias in the nation’s public schools. The guidance is based on a substantial body of research as well as the department’s own investigations, which included findings of “cases where African-American students were disciplined more harshly and more frequently because of their race than similarly situated white students.” The department’s final analysis: “Racial discrimination in school discipline is a real problem.”

This realization isn’t confined to the Department of Education. Educators across the country, including the Florida Department of Education, have recognized the benefits of reforming overly punitive and discriminatory school discipline practices. There is no reason to think that these policies conflict with the ability to respond to school shootings. The Department of Education itself concluded that: “The goals of equity and school safety are thus complementary, and together help ensure a safe school free of discrimination.”

The plain truth is that this has nothing to do with preventing school shootings — the administration has had its eye on repealing the Obama-era discipline guidance for some time already as part of its deregulation agenda. And while the guidance is still characterized as under review by the administration, Secretary DeVos tipped her hand on Sunday.

In an appearance on 60 Minutes, she stated that racial disparities in school discipline come “down to individual kids.” To be clear about the implications of this statement, Ms. DeVos is saying that when Black students are disciplined more harshly than their white peers, the fault lies with Black youth. Secretary DeVos isn’t grappling with the right approach to disparate school discipline; she’s denying the problem exists.

The call to repeal the guidance on disparate school discipline has nothing to do with addressing gun violence in schools. While the administration has backed away from efforts to examine real solutions, like sensible gun regulations, it is boldly and shamefully exploiting this tragedy to advance its efforts to roll back civil rights.