Legislators urge governor to end transfers to ICE jails
Dozens of state legislators on Monday urged Gov. Gavin Newsom to halt the transfer of immigrants in local and state custody to Immigration and Customs Enforcement as officials face an alarming number of COVID19 infections in these facilities.
In a letter spearheaded by Assemblyman Rob Bonta, DAlameda, more than 40 state Assembly members and senators called on Newsom to sign an executive order that would stop the transfer of immigrant inmates. They cited severe health risks and a high likelihood of transmission inside ICE facilities, where hundreds of detainees share small common areas and sleep in bunks just feet away from one another.
“We are deeply concerned that in the midst of the unprecedented, COVID19 pandemic, immigrants who are eligible to be released from local and state custody continue to be transferred to Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facilities where the virus is spreading rapidly and unabated,” the letter said. “These transfers not only jeopardize the lives of immigrant community members, they also undercut the state’s hardfought efforts to flatten the curve and reduce the health risks of this highly transmissible virus for all Californians.”
A spokesperson for Newsom said Monday the governor is reviewing the letter.
The letter comes amid an outbreak at San Quentin State Prison that alarmed public health officials across the country and raised questions about how — and why — prison officials facilitated transfers that essentially spread the virus to multiple institutions.
A spokesman for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation did not respond to the concerns raised in the letter but said the agency “notifies any law enforcement agency — not just ICE — that has placed a hold, warrant or a detainer on an incarcerated person before that person is released from state prison.”
The agency said it does not have an estimate of how many immigrant inmates were transferred to ICE custody in the past month. But Bonta and advocates said Monday that nearly 600 incarcerated people have been transferred to ICE between January and mid-May.
Nearly 1,400 incarcerated people and 165 employees at San Quentin have been infected with COVID19, as of Monday.
The prison had no coronavirus cases until it received a transfer of 121 men from the California Institution for Men in Chino at the end of May. There are more than 5,300 cases among incarcerated people across the state’s prison system, and 28 have died.
Meanwhile, more than 750
ICE detainees and 45 employees nationwide have tested positive for COVID19, according to the agency’s latest data. Dozens of immigrants have described a lack of sanitation and hygiene products; crowded, confined spaces; and insufficient medical care in these facilities, making them breeding grounds for the virus.
“They’re in close quarters by design, where it is very difficult to physically distance, to stay safe, to stay safe from COVID19,” Bonta said during a virtual news conference Monday. “We need to make sure that we’re doing right by them, that we’re taking care of them, that we’re not giving them death sentences or sentences for serious health outcomes and consequences.”
ICE did not respond to requests for comment Monday. The agency has said it’s closely tracking infections in its facilities and following health protocols to protect detainees.
“While our law enforcement officers and agents continue daily enforcement operations to make criminal and civil arrests, prioritizing individuals who threaten our national security and public safety, we remain committed to the health and safety of our employees and the general public,” ICE said on its website.