In 2025, PLS, New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU), the Robert & Ethel Kennedy Human Rights Center, and Covington & Burling LLC filed PLS v. DHS, 1:25-cv-00787-LJV (W.D.N.Y. 2025) to challenge ICE policies that impeded confidential communications between immigrant detainees in the Buffalo Federal Detention Facility (commonly known as Batavia) and their attorneys. 

PLS and its partners are pleased to announce that this action has been settled, and privileged legal mail will no longer be opened at the Batavia ICE facility. 

The settlement also requires the facility to:

• distribute people’s legal mail within 24 hours of receipt,
• use a specific, secure device to scan all incoming mail, and
• refrain from copying, retaining, or opening legal mail without the intended recipient present.

“This victory in PLS v. DHS affirms a fundamental principle of justice: confidential legal mail is not a privilege; it is a right,” said Karen Murtagh, Executive Director of Prisoners’ Legal Services of New York.  “For immigrants detained in remote immigration facilities, such as the Buffalo Federal Detention Facility in Batavia, secure legal mail is frequently the only reliable way for clients and their attorneys to communicate. Long travel times and limited space for in-person meetings often result in attorneys and their clients using confidential legal mail to review evidence, prepare filings, and make informed decisions about their cases. Any breach of legal mail confidentiality threatens the fairness of the legal process itself. Ensuring that privileged legal mail remains secure and confidential is essential to effective representation and to upholding the integrity of our justice system.” 

PLS and its partners in this lawsuit will monitor compliance for three years. More information about the settlement can be found at the websites of RFK Human Rights Center and NYCLU.