ICE Detainees Class Action Argues for Coronavirus Release

ICE detainees recently filed a class action claiming that they are “literally trapped” in jail during the coronavirus outbreak.

The class action, filed by the Lawyers for Civil Rights on behalf of the ICE detainees, argues that immigrants held in Massachusetts jails are at high risk for coronavirus.

In order to protect themselves, the plaintiffs argue that they should be released temporarily with ankle bracelets or other measures. This would reportedly protect the immunocompromised detainees during the global pandemic.

The two plaintiffs in the ICE detainees class action say they suffer from health problems which puts them at a higher risk for coronavirus and its complications.

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Plaintiff Maria Alejandra Celimen Savino reportedly suffers from asthma and has been previously hospitalized due to the condition, the complaint reports. Plaintiff Julio Cesar Medeiros Neves suffers from “extreme” depression and anxiety which has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 outbreak.

“Plaintiffs are subject to imminent infection, illness, and death because of their civil immigration detention — literally trapped, with no safe alternative available to them,” the ICE detainees class action lawsuit claims.

The plaintiffs claim that ICE has failed to properly address the problems associated with the coronavirus pandemic, including a shortage of medical supplies and other “critical issues.”

Allegedly, although the agency has released interim guidance on COVID-19 issues, these protocols are not being followed in detention centers around the country.

According to Savino and Neves, failure to provide testing, sanitation supplies, protective gear, increased medical staffing, proactive measures, and other coronavirus preventatives showcases how unprepared ICE’s “already broken medical care system” is. The plaintiffs claim that they feel like “sitting ducks” and are “scared for [their] life.”

“Defendants have continued to confine detainees in close proximity, without adequate soap, toilet paper, and other daily necessities; admit new detainees without COVID-19 testing or screening, deny access to testing and medical care for plaintiffs and other detainees; and refuse to release even the most vulnerable detainees with medical conditions that heighten their risk for infection, sickness, and death,” the ICE detainees argue in their class action.

The ICE detainees class action maintains that purposefully exposing at risk detainees to COVID-19 violates the Fifth Amendment due to the imminent risk of physical, emotional, and mental harm. To mitigate these issues, the plaintiffs seek injunctive relief in the form of immediate release.

Although the ICE detainees argue that they are at extreme risk and afraid for their lives, not everyone agrees. Bristol County Sheriff Tom Hodgson has criticized the class action, with a spokesperson calling the claims “absurd and completely frivolous.” The representative reportedly predicted that a judge would throw out the ICE detainees class action in less than five minutes.

“Claiming they have no toilet paper or sanitizer, claiming we admit people without health screenings … it’s laughable how false these lies are,” Hodgson spokesperson Jonathan Darling said. “Filing this lawsuit is a waste of the paper and ink it is printed on, and a waste of the time of the people who penned it and those who have to react to it.”

Hodgson, who is an outspoken Trump supporter, argues that releasing the ICE detainees could put the public at risk. Additionally, he argues that 80 percent of the inmates who he reports are immunocompromised would be safer in detention centers where they could immediately access health care if they got sick.

“Releasing this at-risk population back into our neighborhoods presents a public health and public safety risk right in the middle of a pandemic,” Hodgson said in a statement. “Opening the front doors and letting inmates walk out would be a disaster.”

A similar lawsuit has been filed by ICE detainees in Washington, an area overrun with coronavirus cases. Like the Massachusetts plaintiffs, these ICE detainees argue that they are forced to live in close quarters, are denied sufficient medical care, and are left with few opportunities to mitigate the outbreak.

In New Jersey, up to 1,000 low risk inmates have been temporarily released in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19 local jails. The inmates were released as part of an agreement between state prosecutors and criminal justice advocates.

The ICE detainees are represented by Oren N. Nimni and Oren M. Sellstrom of Lawyers for Civil Rights and Michael J. Wishnie of Yale Law School.

The ICE Detainees Class Action Lawsuit is Savino, et al. v. Hodgson, et al., Case No. 1:20-cv-10617, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

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