Human Rights First Urges Supreme Court to Check Prolonged Detention of Immigrants in the United States

NEW YORK – Human Rights First filed a ‘friend of the court’ brief in the Supreme Court today on behalf of leading human rights groups in the case of Benitez v. Wallis. The Benitez case challenges the government’s ability to detain non-citizens for indefinite periods without adequate review. The brief, which was signed by Human Rights First, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch, argues that the indefinite detention of 45-year-old Daniel Benitez, a Cuban immigrant who has been held since 2001, is a violation of international law.

“No misuse of government power is more clearly established as a violation of international law than the practice of prolonged arbitrary detention,” says the brief. “The right not to be unjustly detained, so central to our concept of ordered liberty, is articulated in the earliest documents on personal liberty as well as in the declarations, covenants, treaties, and constitutions that embody modern international law and the laws of free states. Indeed, the right is universally recognized among the democratic nations and among the international bodies that represent the nations of the world.”

The case centers around the detention of Mr. Benitez, a Cuban immigrant who entered the United States more than 20 years ago. Authorities sought to expel Mr. Benitez from the United States in 2001 after he finished serving a 6-year jail term, but since Cuba has been unwilling to take him back, U.S. authorities insist that they must continue to keep him locked up. It is estimated that more than 2,000 other immigrants are currently being held indefinitely by the United States since no other countries will accept them.

The brief urges the Court to reverse a lower court ruling that the executive can indefinitely detain Mr. Benitez, arguing that the indefinite detention of an immigrant violates the United States’ obligations under international law and is inconsistent with the practices of other democracies.

“This case is not just about Mr. Benitez, but about the hundreds of immigrants the United States is currently holding in detention without adequate judicial review,” said Deborah Pearlstein, Director of the U.S. Law and Security Program at Human Rights First. “We are hopeful that in this case the Supreme Court will fulfill its role as a check on administrative power.”

Oral arguments before the Supreme Court will be in late April and a decision is expected in July.

Former Acting Assistant Attorney General Bill Lann Lee and the law firm of Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein served as counsel on the brief.

To read the brief click here.