A federal judge in Manhattan has allowed a lawsuit against Immigration and Customs Enforcement to proceed over claims the agency was negligent in not providing a person in custody with proper medical care at discharge, resulting in a mental health emergency that required months of intense medical treatment.

Michelet Charles, a lawful permanent resident, claims to have been diagnosed with bipolar and schizoaffective disorders for the past 35 years. Medication and other treatments helped him manage his mental health issues for years, allowing him to work, have a family, and participate in society in general, according to court filings.

In July 2014, ICE took Charles into custody, placing him in the Orange County Correctional Center. He was one of the hundreds of detainees federal immigration authorities place in the facility each year. Despite being detained at the facility, Charles claimed that ICE had direct custody over him at key points, including immediately before his release.

Later that month, Charles was released after a hearing at the Varick Street Immigration Court in Manhattan. He claims he was “simply dumped on the streets of Lower Manhattan with nothing more than his identification.” Critically, he claims that ICE failed to provide him with an adequate discharge plan that should have included a supply of interim medication and a summary of medical records, among other items.

Charles claims that his attorney discussed the need for medication with an ICE officer, who said the agency did not have a supply. Charles was directed to return to the Orange County facility, 65 or so miles away, to obtain a supply and his other belongings. When Charles attempted to do so the next day, an employee at the facility said the ICE officials that transported him to Manhattan were responsible for providing the medication. Charles' attorney said the ICE officer was contacted but failed to respond to inquiries.

Within weeks, Charles claims, his psychosis was so severe he lost contact with reality, requiring his family to call for emergency medical assistance.

ICE argued that it was immune from Charles' negligence claims under the independent contractor exception to the Federal Tort Claims Act.

U.S. District Judge Vincent Briccetti of the Southern District of New York disagreed.

As Briccetti noted, Charles' claims are over ICE's own actions, rather than anything that happened while he was in the care of officials in Orange County. The alleged failures were claimed to have occurred off-site from the Orange County facility, not under the control and care of the Orange County facility's staff, while ICE officials themselves allegedly failed to provide a discharge plan for Charles, the judge stated.

Charles also sufficiently alleged ICE's conduct in failing to supervise its own employees was based on inattentiveness, laziness, or absentmindedness, not as part of a consideration of policy, which was required for the agency to be granted a discretionary function exception under the FTCA's waiver of sovereign immunity.

Charles' legal team is principally led by attorneys with New York Lawyers for the Public Interest. In a statement, Laura Redman, the group's director of health justice, said the attorneys and client were pleased with the court's decision.

“It's particularly important now, as the number of people in immigration detention increases dramatically, to be able to hold ICE accountable for having a hand in causing great harm to people,” Redman said. “We are gratified that we will have the opportunity to pursue our client's claims.”

Simpson Thatcher & Bartlett was co-counsel in the action.

A spokeswoman for ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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