ICE accused of blocking the number for a real immigrant hotline used on OITNB - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

TMC · 08-23-2019, 08:37 PM

https://gothamist.com/2019/08/23/ice_hotline_oitnb.php

In the seventh and final season, detained immigrants at the fictional Litchfield women’s prison were shown passing around a phone number on a piece of paper for a hotline run by Freedom for Immigrants, a real group that provides immigrants with legal assistance. "But in a twist that could have come straight from the TV drama, Freedom for Immigrants claims ICE blocked detainees from using its phone number this month—just two weeks after the release of the series," reports WNYC's Beth Fertig. "The advocacy group sent a cease and desist letter to ICE and its phone contractor asking it to restore the phone number, and said the shutdown is deeply suspicious." The producers of OITNB have sent a letter to Congress calling for ICE to have the number restored. As Fertig notes, "the hotline isn’t a 1-800 number, because those don’t work from ICE detention centers. Instead, it’s a four-digit pro bono extension detainees can call for free."

JamesG · 02-12-2020, 04:14 PM

Immigration Detention Hotline Featured in "Orange Is the New Black" Restored
by Jackie Strause
Feb. 12, 2020

A national hotline for detained immigrants that had been shut down two weeks after its inclusion in the summer 2019 final season of Netflix's "Orange Is the New Black" has been restored.

The National Immigration Detention Hotline had been a free and confidential resource offering legal assistance to people in immigration detention since 2013. The hotline was shut down Aug. 7, according to the group, echoing a plotline from the seventh and final season of Jenji Kohan's Emmy-winning prison dramedy that released on the streaming giant weeks prior.

On Tuesday, the United States District Court for the Central District of California granted Freedom for Immigrants its application for a preliminary injunction and ordered ICE to restore the hotline.

Judge André Birotte Jr. found that Freedom for Immigrants "has shown that its speech was a substantial and motivating factor behind DHS’ shutdown of the hotline,” and ordered that DHS stop "further interference with the operation of the free and confidential" hotline and restore the resource at "all detention facilities operated, controlled and/or overseen" by ICE.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/li...stored-1278949

08-23-2019, 08:37 PM	#1
TMC Member Forum Idol Join Date: Jan 09, 2001 Posts: 126,334	ICE accused of blocking the number for a real immigrant hotline used on OITNB https://gothamist.com/2019/08/23/ice_hotline_oitnb.php In the seventh and final season, detained immigrants at the fictional Litchfield women’s prison were shown passing around a phone number on a piece of paper for a hotline run by Freedom for Immigrants, a real group that provides immigrants with legal assistance. "But in a twist that could have come straight from the TV drama, Freedom for Immigrants claims ICE blocked detainees from using its phone number this month—just two weeks after the release of the series," reports WNYC's Beth Fertig. "The advocacy group sent a cease and desist letter to ICE and its phone contractor asking it to restore the phone number, and said the shutdown is deeply suspicious." The producers of OITNB have sent a letter to Congress calling for ICE to have the number restored. As Fertig notes, "the hotline isn’t a 1-800 number, because those don’t work from ICE detention centers. Instead, it’s a four-digit pro bono extension detainees can call for free."

02-12-2020, 04:14 PM	#2
JamesG Freakshow Moderator Forum Icon Join Date: Feb 01, 2008 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 57,135	*Immigration Detention Hotline Featured in "Orange Is the New Black" Restored* by Jackie Strause Feb. 12, 2020 A national hotline for detained immigrants that had been shut down two weeks after its inclusion in the summer 2019 final season of Netflix's "Orange Is the New Black" has been restored. The National Immigration Detention Hotline had been a free and confidential resource offering legal assistance to people in immigration detention since 2013. The hotline was shut down Aug. 7, according to the group, echoing a plotline from the seventh and final season of Jenji Kohan's Emmy-winning prison dramedy that released on the streaming giant weeks prior. On Tuesday, the United States District Court for the Central District of California granted Freedom for Immigrants its application for a preliminary injunction and ordered ICE to restore the hotline. Judge André Birotte Jr. found that Freedom for Immigrants "has shown that its speech was a substantial and motivating factor behind DHS’ shutdown of the hotline,” and ordered that DHS stop "further interference with the operation of the free and confidential" hotline and restore the resource at "all detention facilities operated, controlled and/or overseen" by ICE. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/li...stored-1278949