A federal lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Johnstown claims several immigrants housed at the Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Philipsburg are being prevented from resolving their pending criminal cases because of a “nonsense bureaucratic warrant.”

Noncitizens are people facing criminal charges in New Jersey who have been placed in the Moshannon Valley by the Departments of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

They are represented by the American Friends Service Committee’s Immigrant Rights Program, a New Jersey state-funded legal representation program that provides free counsel and representation to “indigent New Jersey residents facing detention and deportation (from the United States) .

The lawsuit seeks court intervention that would allow several immigrants named as plaintiffs and as a class to be able to resolve their New Jersey criminal offenses remotely, such as through a hearing via an internet platform like Zoom or even over the phone.

The Moshannon Valley allows its residents to use virtual hearings when it comes to immigration and family court matters, but the federal government will not allow the Moshannon Valley to hold remote hearings to resolve state criminal proceedings.

The lawsuit was originally filed in New Jersey, but two weeks ago, it was transferred to federal district court in Johnstown, which is the venue for cases involving litigants who live in Clearfield County, where the processing center is located.

“There is no good reason for Moshannon to distinguish between immigration and certain family court proceedings, on the one hand (where virtual participation is permitted), and state criminal proceedings, on the other (where virtual participation is not permitted) ” according to the lawsuit filed by the civil rights group.

A basic principle of the United States Constitution is that “persons with pending criminal charges have the right to appear in court and defend themselves, the petition states.

Immigrants in the Moshannon Valley are denied that right, he continues.

The result is that they have trouble getting legal representation for their criminal cases; they can’t get bonds and have no forum to tell their respective “sides” of the story, the Friends Committee argued.

The petition noted that arrests, pending criminal matters and criminal convictions may impact their claims to remain in the United States.

The case was assigned to U.S. District Judge Stephanie L. Haines, who presides in Johnstown.

However, the initial review of Friends’ lawsuit will be conducted by Pittsburgh Magistrate Judge Patricia L. Dodge.

Haines ordered the defendants to respond to the lawsuit by next week.

Among the defendants are Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Patrick J. Lechleitner, Acting Director of ICE, and Francis Kemp, Deputy Director of ICE’s Philadelphia Office.

The lawsuit alleges that the constitutional rights of the immigrants were violated and, in addition, the government violated the Federal Administrative Procedure Act.

While the lawsuit is being filed on behalf of the entire group of Moshannon Valley detainees, several of the immigrants have told their individual stories.

Josefina “Doe” from the Dominican Republic lived in Perth Amboy, NJ with her partner and his family.

She did the housework and cooked, but was not allowed to eat at the family table. She said it exists from food donations from churches.

Her partner, she said, became abusive.

Josefina, who did not speak English, was eventually charged with criminal offenses after a domestic dispute.

She was then taken into custody by ICE.

Josefina “desperately wants to tell her side of the story,” the lawsuit said.

Charged with simple assault and disorderly conduct, she complained that she had no way of telling this story to a New Jersey judge.

“Until Josefina’s pending criminal charges are resolved, it is extremely difficult for her to seek bail and release from custody. This means she cannot work to support her adult daughters, harming their future,” the Friends petition concluded.

Others told similar stories of how the lack of remote hearings affected them.

Mommoir Jerome Welch of Jamaica, who is facing gun charges, noted that his case is moving forward “without Mommoir being able to participate.”

Jose “Doe” came to the United States from El Salvador. He fled gang violence in his home country. Now he is facing assault charges in Hudson County, NJ Jose said he was informed by Moshannon Valley that he could not host the conference calls.

Felipe Niomar Martinez Ortiz left his native Venezuela for fear of reprisals for participating in an anti-Maduro protest. He was arrested in New Jersey for theft.

Ortiz wants a public defender to represent him, but because of government policies that prohibit remote hearings, he has no way to seek representation for his case, it is claimed.

One of the requests is for the court to order GEO Group, the for-profit company that owns the Moshannon Valley Processing Center, to purchase and maintain equipment that would allow telephone access to state courts to “persons they hold at Moshannon.”