Has the coronavirus put ICE detainees' health at increased risk?
Immigration detainees, as with other confined populations, would appear to be especially vulnerable to the coronavirus. On Aug. 11 a federal judge barred Immigration and Customs Enforcement from transferring detainees to a Virginia facility where more than 75% of 339 in custody have tested positive, pending results of a Centers for Disease Control report.
An advocacy group, the Vera Institute of Justice, has estimated that infections could be up to 15 times higher than initially reported. In July Houston Public Media said detainees in Texas are 15 times more likely to contract the virus than other Texans, and that detainees said ICE didn't provide adequate social distancing and medical care.
Reports from other states indicate similar issues. An ICE spokesman told the Washington Post that detainee health “is one of the agency’s highest priorities.”
