Release people from immigration detention centers
Today, across the United States, approximately 37,000 people are confined in immigration detention. Immigration detention is civil, meaning that the government is not holding people as punishment for a crime. Rather, the government is detaining them for the duration of their immigration case, which can take months or years, for the mere purpose of assuring that they comply with a deportation order should they receive one. Eighty-six percent of those released on bond appear at their hearings
But for their immigration detention, these individuals would be living in the community. The same is true for the 36% of people in immigration detention with any past criminal conviction (including minor ones like drug possession or illegal entry into the U.S.) because they have already completed their sentences.
In the midst of the COVID-19 emergency, we urge immigration decision-makers to consider the health and constitutional rights of people in immigration detention. We are an attorney and a physician who work together to address the legal and medical needs of people in the ICE facility in Aurora. We write with great concern about the welfare and rights of detained immigrants during this pandemic.
While the public has been urged to follow medical recommendations to curb the spread of COVID-19, including social distancing, isolating those with underlying medical conditions and respiratory symptoms, and frequent hand-washing, people in civil detention have no agency to comply with these measures. One client at the Aurora ICE Detention Center who sleeps in a cramped dormitory reported being instructed to maintain 3 feet from others because there was not enough room to maintain 6 feet. Two officers at the center recently tested positive for COVID-19.
One client shared that, while the detention officers have masks, no one detained in the facility does. Clients report the existence of a quarantined dorm and people with flu-like symptoms within the facility. Many clients reported that cleaning supplies are scarce and they cannot ensure they are not touching contaminated surfaces.
These hundreds of confined individuals have no control over their safety and represent one of the highest-risk groups during this pandemic.
We demand that ICE immediately release anyone at heightened risk of death or serious illness from COVID-19, including those over 60 and/or those with underlying medical conditions such as diabetes, immunosuppressive conditions, lung disease, cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney or liver disease, cancer, pregnancy, and neurologic disorders.
This measure is essential to reduce virus spread and loss of life among detained individuals, prevent facility workers from transmitting the virus to their families and communities, and preserve our state’s already inadequate supply of hospital beds, ventilators, and personal protective equipment.
Furthermore, if this population remains confined, the facility will continue to be a nidus of infection for months to come, risking rebounding infection rates in Colorado such as those now seen in Asia. ICE should take immediate steps to depopulate the facility consistent with Gov. Jared Polis’ March 25 executive order to stop the spread of COVID-19 in secure facilities.
Every person in the United States has had to adjust how we operate our lives, and the Department of Homeland Security must similarly revisit how their current policies could magnify the already devastating effects of this pandemic. Spain and the U.K. have authorized mass releases of detained immigrants, and the U.S. should do the same. Our humanity and public health call for nothing less. Mekela Goehring is executive director of the detention program at the Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network a nonprofit organization that provides free immigration legal services. Jaime Moo-Young, M.D., is an assistant professor of general internal medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.