Immigrant and civil rights advocates are calling on Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials in Washington state to use their discretion and release detained people susceptible to the virus that causes COVID-19, writing that detainees “are housed in close quarters and are often in poor health,” leaving them “highly vulnerable to outbreaks of contagious illnesses,” according to a letter reviewed by the Associated Press.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Washington, the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, and Columbia Legal Services ask officials to parole detainees over 60, pregnant people, and people with weakened immune systems. The groups make their plea as the state has been devastated by the virus: At least 25 have died, and more than 160 others have been infected. Earlier this week, Gov. Jay Inslee warned that the latter number could soar into the tens of thousands if urgent action isn’t taken.
As we wrote earlier this week, both ICE and Customs and Border Protection have so far failed to put forward concrete plans detailing action they’re taking to protect the tens of thousands of people, including children, in their custody. Known detention conditions make it clear that a COVID-19 outbreak could be disastrous: Last year, a government watchdog reported filthy conditions at a number of border facilities, including adults who hadn’t been able to shower for a month. “Instead, wet wipes were handed out to maintain hygiene,” BuzzFeed News said.
In Washington state, “It wasn't immediately clear how many detainees at ICE's 1,575-bed Northwest detention center in Tacoma might be considered high-risk,” the AP noted. Immigrant rights advocate Maru Mora Villalpando told the AP that a man recently released from Northwest told her that the medical isolation unit there was full, which she said should be concerning. “The fact that the unit is full yet the detention center is not at capacity is a sign local authorities should be doing something,” she said. “We are really worried.”
ICE officials have the ability to parole eligible people, including asylum-seekers, but the unleashed agency has drastically pulled this back under the Trump administration—and to devastating effect. In 2018, Russian asylum-seeker Mergensana Amar died in what was not his first attempt at suicide at the Tacoma facility. He had spent nearly a year in detention at the time of his death. “Amar’s death is an example of the lengths that ICE will go to keep people in detention,” Mora Villalpando told The Washington Post at the time. “They could have released him and they decided not to. He kept telling us, ‘I’d rather die here than be deported.’”
Advocates have also urged the Department of Homeland Security to follow precedent for natural disasters and halt most immigration enforcement activities for the duration, and suspend immigration actions around healthcare facilities, including testing sites, during the coronavirus crisis. “Such a policy would ensure that all people, regardless of immigration status, are able to access the medical services necessary to preserve their health and well-being,” the Center for American Progress said.
“This proposal is not complicated—and it should not be controversial,” the civil rights advocates wrote. “Consistent with past practice, DHS should issue a formal public statement affirming that there will be no ICE and CBP immigration enforcement actions at hospitals, health care facilities, and other COVID-19 testing sites … In addition, it would also promote the national interest of limiting the further spread of the coronavirus. It is time for the federal government to prioritize the safety and well-being of all Americans by adopting policies designed to help contain this outbreak.”