By VINAYA SAKSENA

PROVIDENCE — A U.S. District Court judge declined to make a decision Thursday on an ACLU request to prevent deportation of a detainee once housed in a local prison. However, it appears the man will not be deported before Judge William E. Smith makes his decision.

The Rhode Island affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit Monday on behalf of the family of Hiu Lui “Jason” Ng.
A Chinese national who had been detained by the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, Ng died of cancer last summer while being held at the Donald W. Wyatt Detention Facility in Central Falls.
One witness who would be vital to the lawsuit, the ACLU said, was Roger Gracias Lozano, a former Wyatt inmate who had briefly shared a cell there with Ng.
The ACLU described Lozano as sort of guardian angel to Ng, caring for him when he was weak and ill.
Lozano had allegedly witnessed mistreatment Ng suffered at the hands of Wyatt staffers. The ACLU wants to forestall deporting Lozano so he can testify in the Ng family’s lawsuit.
Lozano, who is being held at a facility in Pennsylvania, was originally scheduled for deportation to El Salvador earlier this week. His deportation was moved back to Feb. 27, according to attorney Jack McConnell, who is handling the case for the ACLU.
On Thursday, Judge Smith decided to continue the hearing on the ACLU’s request until Feb. 26. Rhode Island ACLU Executive Director Steve Brown noted that ICE had promised not to deport Lozano before then.
On Thursday night, meanwhile, the Central Falls Detention Facility Corporation’s Board of Directors met for a third time in City Hall, where the city council chambers were filled with Wyatt employees.
Some Wyatt staffers had previously suggested that their collective reputation had been unduly sullied by the controversy surrounding Ng’s death. They were also concerned about steps that might be taken by a five-person board featuring four new members recently appointed by Mayor Charles Moreau.
 “The faces gathered here tonight are the faces of the Wyatt facility,” said Michael Iarossi, an inspector who spoke on behalf of his co-workers. “I hope you remember them. They are the finest of what our city has to offer.”
Board Chairman Daniel Cooney thanked Iarossi for his statement, noting that two members of the board would be touring the Wyatt this weekend.
Cooney noted that with four new members on the board, he and his colleagues wanted to make sure their decisions were based on sound information.
Cooney added that the board values employee input. “We don’t have answers,” Cooney said. “Four of us are brand new. We’re working very hard to get up to speed.”
That evening, attorney Terence Fracassa, of the law firm of Lepizzera and Laprocina, was sworn in as special counsel to the board. Reached on Wednesday, attorney Margaret “Peg” Lynch-Gadaleta, who along with Cooney has been designated board spokesperson, said she was not certain what Fracassa’s function would be.
However, she thought Fracassa might be asked to review various documents on behalf of the board. Cooney could not be reached for comment.
The board also moved to allow the Wyatt’s chief financial officer, Tammy Novo, to resume making payments for the facility’s day-to-day expenses without preauthorization. At its previous meeting, the board voted itself the authority to sign off on all payments made by the Central Falls Detention Facility Corp.
The board went into executive session for what clerk Marie Twohey said would be discussion of litigation and investigation, involving what was referred to on the agenda as “Cornell Corp. and Central Falls Detention Facility.” Twohey said facility employees and others present were welcome to stay, but that it was uncertain how long the closed-door session would last.
The ICE abruptly removed all 153 of its detainees from the Wyatt in December after its investigation into Ng’s death. As part of an effort to get ICE detainees back — and the funding that comes with them — Mayor Charles Moreau replaced four of the five board members that oversee Wyatt operations via the Central Falls Detention Facility Corp.  The ICE investigation has been cited by the ACLU as providing some of the information needed to pursue legal action.
While trying to get ICE detainees back to the Wyatt, Moreau has also broached the possibility of leasing or selling it, giving a recent tour of the facility to representatives of the Corrections Corporation of America.