In a first-of-its-kind ruling, a federal judge on Thursday ordered the immediate release of nearly a dozen detained immigrants who are at heightened risk amid the coronavirus pandemic due to ongoing health issues. Brooklyn Defender Services, which sued on behalf of the 10 people, said in a statement that the judge found Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) “has been and continues to be deliberately indifferent to serious medical needs and ignores the threat caused by COVID-19 ‘that will likely cause imminent, life-threatening illness.’”
“This is the first federal court in the nation to find that ICE is showing deliberate indifference to the safety of detained people who have medical conditions putting them at high risk if they contract COVID-19—so much that their detention is likely unconstitutional and they must be immediately released,” Andrea Saenz of New York Immigrant Family Unity Project at Brooklyn Defender Services said. “We felt like we had no time to lose, with ICE ignoring our requests for release, and brought as many clients as we could to the attention of the federal court as fast as we could, asking them to hold ICE accountable. This was a huge victory, but we’re going to keep fighting to free them all.”
Five of the 10 people have been held at a New Jersey facility where both a detainee and staffer have tested positive for the novel coronavirus. All 10 are being detained at New Jersey facilities that have been under intense scrutiny by advocates in the past few days, and at least two of the facilities have been the site of detainee hunger strikes in protest of their ongoing detention. “This coronavirus is getting out of control,” detainees at Newark’s Essex County Correctional Facility said, “and if we were to be infected I am sure everyone would rather die on the outside with our families than in here.”
U.S. District Court Judge Analisa Torres firmly agreed that ICE has been disregarding their safety. “The risk of contracting COVID-19 in tightly-confined spaces, especially jails, is now exceedingly obvious. It can no longer be denied that Petitioners, who suffer from underlying illnesses, are caught in the midst of a rapidly-unfolding public health crisis,” she said. “Petitioners need not demonstrate that ‘they actually suffered from serious injuries’ to show a due process violation. Instead, showing that the conditions of confinement ‘pose an unreasonable risk of serious damage to their future health’ is sufficient.”
In fact, Torres continued, ICE authorities have ”exhibited, and continue to exhibit, deliberate indifference to Petitioners’ medical need. The spread of COVID-19 is measured in a matter of a single day—not weeks, months, or years—and Respondents appear to ignore this condition of confinement that will likely cause imminent, life-threatening illness.” ICE detainees in another lawsuit against ICE said officials have endangered their health and well-being by forcing them to sleep in crowded rooms, eat in packed cafeterias, and have even failed to fix broken soap dispensers for hand-washing.
Advocates hope this decision can lead to release for many other immigrants who continue to remain locked up even though ICE could release them today. “By keeping people detained, despite the rapidly spreading COVID-19 virus and specific vulnerabilities, the government is putting people’s lives at stake by acting with blatant disregard for their health and well-being,” said Brooke Menschel of Brooklyn Defender Services. “Judge Torres agreed: ‘Respondents have exhibited, and continue to exhibit, deliberate indifference to Petitioners’ medical needs.’ This decision is an important reminder that the government cannot completely disregard people’s humanity and ignore imminent threats without violating the U.S. Constitution.”