California U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris and Texas Rep. Veronica Escobar are leading a call from nearly 50 members of the House and Senate who are demanding the immediate release of thousands of migrant children from Health and Human Services (HHS) facilities nationwide, where at least 40 kids so far have tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
Because kids are often grouped together during everything from eating to sleeping in these facilities, “unsurprisingly, the virus has spread quickly,” the legislators tell Trump administration officials. “Children are some of the most vulnerable among us, and we must fulfill our moral and legal obligations to protect their health and safety. These conditions are dangerous for any individual in detention—let alone vulnerable children in our care.”
Noting the nearly 2,400 kids currently in the HHS Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) custody, the legislators tell officials: “We are especially concerned that most ORR facilities require children to share bedrooms, bathrooms, and dining spaces, which makes remaining at least six feet apart difficult to observe … The ongoing crisis, inability to protect themselves, and mounting cases in ORR custody expose these children to significant stress.”
More than three dozen of the children who have tested positive for COVID-19 as of last week are being held in Illinois “in what appears to be the largest outbreak of the virus in the country in shelters for unaccompanied minors,” ProPublica’s Melissa Sanchez reported. “It’s unclear how old the infected children are or where they are from,” ProPublica reported. “But the Bronzeville shelter, a four-story converted nursing home that can hold up to 250 boys and girls, is licensed to house children from infancy to 17 years old.”
These children should be quickly and safely released to sponsors, like relatives already here, but legislators note “ORR has reportedly unnecessarily delayed reunifying some of these children with their sponsors. We are also deeply troubled by reports that administration officials are considering policies—including the fingerprinting of adult household members of sponsors—that may delay the reunification process ... During the ongoing, serious public health crisis, it is unjustifiable to needlessly protract unaccompanied children’s detention for any reason not directly related their health and safety.”
At least two federal judges have already urged—but not ordered—officials to release kids amid this pandemic, but the lives of these children continue to remain at risk. “Keeping them in needlessly prolonged detention poses immeasurable risk to their lives and the lives of their loved ones,” the legislators continue. “We ask that you urgently and safely pursue expedited release of all immigrant children from U.S. custody to the care of sponsors and loved ones and take all reasonable steps to protect children in your custody.”