Two undocumented women are filing a class action lawsuit against the federal government over conditions they experienced in the Baltimore ICE holding rooms. On Wednesday, a federal judge issued an injunction blocking their deportation for as long as that case is being litigated.

The lawsuit filed by the Amica Center for Immigrant Rights and the National Immigration Project alleges that the plaintiffs and others have been and will be “subjected to inhumane and punitive conditions.”

U.S. District Judge Julie R. Rubin clarified in court that her injunction only applies to the two lead plaintiffs.

N.N. and R.G. allege that in the holding rooms at the Baltimore Field Office for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, they were denied medical care and kept for longer than the 12 hours allowed by ICE policy. The suit only identifies the women by their initials.

Lawyers representing the women say that N.N. was held for more than 60 hours in the Baltimore holding rooms and R.G. was detained there for approximately 48 hours. N.N. was detained on May 7 and R.G. on May 8th. Their lawyers say they were in the country lawfully and were both detained after doing a routine immigration check-in, as instructed by ICE.

If the women were deported to Mexico, as originally ordered by the federal government, the case wouldn’t be able to move forward.

Austin Rose is an attorney with the Amica Center for Immigrant Rights who is on the team representing the plaintiffs. Rose said deportation “would frustrate their ability to continue doing this case and represent the class of people who are being held for far too long and in poor conditions at the Baltimore hold rooms.”

“This class action is about ICE’s repeated insistence on detaining people for no reason and holding them in cells for multiple days without proper medical care as has happened to both of these people,” said Rose. He said his clients and others have been held, “without proper food and water, without the ability to sleep, without the ability to contact their family members, and this is a major problem that we're trying to address.”

“These are the two plaintiffs who have bravely decided to represent the class and litigate this case.”

After filing the lawsuit, both N.N. and R.G. were sent to ICE detention facilities in other parts of the country; one to New Jersey and the other to Arizona. Rose does not think that move was done in retaliation for filing suit.

Both of the women in the suit are mothers who have resided in Maryland for over a decade; both have children who are United States citizens, according to court documents.

N.N. is a national of Guatemala who takes several medicines for Type II diabetes, depression and anxiety. The suit alleges she was denied access to her diabetes medicine even after her family gave the medication to ICE. She only received the medicine after her lawyer advocated on her behalf — more than 24 hours after she was initially detained.

R.G., a native of El Salvador, was denied her thyroid medication, according to the lawsuit. By the time the suit was filed on May 9th, she had been without her medication for over 36 hours, missing at least one daily dose.

Both of the women in the suit are in the United States with order of withholding of removal, meaning they cannot be deported back to their home countries. The Department of Homeland Security has ordered the women be deported to Mexico, a country in which they are not citizens nor in which they have ever lived.

Other instances have been reported by WYPR of Baltimore ICE detainees lacking food, access to hygiene, and overcrowding in the holding rooms.

“ICE takes its commitment to promoting safe, secure, humane environments for those in our custody very seriously," wrote DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin in a statement to WYPR. "It is a longstanding practice to provide comprehensive medical care from the moment an alien enters ICE custody."

The statement also said that practice includes medical, dental and mental health intake screenings within 14 days of “entering ICE custody or arrival at a facility” along with access to medical appointments and 24-hour emergency care.

Since March, WYPR has been in contact with more than half a dozen lawyers, at least two reported having clients in the holding rooms who were denied medical care at some point during their stay.

The holding rooms in the Baltimore Field Office are not meant for nor are they equipped for long term stays.

A Maryland congressional staffer who asked not to be identified by name spoke with WYPR about their observations visiting the rooms in mid-March, after media reports about the room conditions had already begun to circulate.

They said there were two rooms for men and two rooms for women; the rooms are made of concrete, have no windows, no television, and a door leading to a small toilet that is only covered by a thin screen for privacy. There are concrete benches built into the walls where some detainees have reported sleeping, although the staffer said ICE told them there were air mattresses available but those were being sanitized during the time of the visit.

Staffers did not observe any medical or infirmary on site nor was there an established contract with a food vendor for meals.

This story has been updated.