Representatives Nydia Velázquez and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York are calling on top Department of Homeland Security officials to immediately release jailed immigrants, “beginning with all vulnerable populations,” from federal immigration detention facilities, where experts and advocates have been repeatedly warning a coronavirus outbreak could prove disastrous.
”Since your agencies have provided no clear action plan to ensure the health of immigrant detainees allegedly in violation of the immigration laws,” they write, “we have concluded that the Department, including both CBP and ICE, are unable to handle its mission under the current public health crisis.”
In addition to the release of detained immigrants starting with the most vulnerable, Velázquez and Ocasio-Cortez call for a suspension of removals and demand to know what officials currently have in place to protect detainees during this crisis. “What medical supplies and hygiene products are being made available to detainees?” they ask. “What contingency plan is being made available to detainees and officers in case of a lack of water, soap, or the need for human quarantine procedures?”
Ocasio-Cortez had also recently criticized the Trump administration for continuing to endanger lives by not halting its cruel mass deportation policies during this crisis, confronting an ICE agent who was transporting a number of migrant children. Ocasio-Cortez rushed to LaGuardia Airport after being alerted by immigrant rights advocacy group New Sanctuary Coalition. “If the Pentagon has halted all domestic travel for military, why is ICE transporting unaccompanied children in a pandemic?” she later tweeted.
Earlier this week, Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey similarly called for a deportation halt and the release of immigrants. “We are facing a global pandemic,” he said. “As all of us in Massachusetts and across the United States begin to understand how to live under the grip of the coronavirus, we have a responsibility as a nation to stop the spread of this disease on a global scale. That’s why I am calling on the Trump administration to halt deportations and release from detention all immigrants who pose no public safety threat.”
“Our families and communities are facing unparalleled fear and anxiety,” he continued. “The United States has a moral obligation to lead with love and compassion. It is time to dig into the heart of our nation and find its conscience. In times as turbulent as these, halting deportations and releasing detainees from custody is just the right thing to do.” Keeping immigrants detained during this crisis, he said, “has already been called a public health disaster waiting to happen.”
