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Transitional Detention Centers

M. Izquierdo, W. Parker, V. Puerto, and A. Sabato

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Immigrant Detention Facilities Face the COVID-19 Pandemic

(USA Today 2019)

(USA Today 2019)

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted every corner of the globe—and immigration detention centers are no exception. Although public health officials have warned against moving immigrants between different detention centers, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has continued to transfer detainees from one facility to another, claiming that they have been following the necessary precautions to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. As it turns out, however, this has not been the case. In June of 2020, 74 detainees were transferred from Florida to Arizona, where more than half of them tested positive for COVID-19. Additionally, by July, the immigrant detention center in Farmville, Virginia reported 315 cases of coronavirus, making this detention center the hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. (Rosenburg et al. 2020).

These stories are just two recent examples of ICE detention center infection counts. As reported by the American Bar Association in December of 2020, “there are currently 7,622 individuals who are or were in ICE custody and who have tested positive for COVID-19 since testing began in February 2020” (2020). This number includes individuals who were exposed to COVID-19 while in detention facilities and tested positive after they were released. Due to the current rate of infection and the recent insurgence of more infectious strands of the virus, it is difficult to calculate how many more will be infected, or eventually die. Detention centers are places that have historically lacked adequate medical care, and as a result, these facilities have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, ICE detainees were about 2.9 times more likely to test positive for COVID than the general U.S. population, according to a report on monthly case rates between April and August 2020 (Erfani et al. 2020).

ICE’s superficial claims to be meeting the necessary protocols to protect the rights of their detainees are no new development. The 2019 report on South Florida immigration detention facilities, “Prison By Any Other Name,” outlines just how little ICE has done to meet the national standards set in place for health, wellness, and care in these centers (SPLC 2019). So, what are some of these national standards for detention centers, and how has ICE fallen short in Florida in ensuring a safe environment for detainees?

National standards in place for ICE detention centers (US ICE 2019):

  • General health screening including mental and dental screenings when first detained

  • Medically necessary services at no cost to the detainee (general, mental, dental, and pharmaceutical services)

  • Comprehensive, routine, and preventative health care

  • Emergency care, specialty care, and hospitalization as needed in the local community

(CBS News 2019)

(CBS News 2019)

At first glance, ICE’s national detention standards may seem sufficient to meet the needs of their detainees. After all, these facilities are contractually and constitutionally obligated to provide the aforementioned standards of care (SPLC 2019, 6). As ICE is a subsidiary agency of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, its policies and standards are overseen by the federal government. However, in practice, these standards are not being met for a multitude of reasons. The lack of federal oversight prevents ICE detention standards from being enforced to their fullest capacity. Facilities that fail to meet these standards are rarely held accountable by the federal government.

Further, South Florida’s facilities are inconsistent in the standards they apply. ICE currently has three separate sets of standards: the 2000 National Detention Standards, the 2008 Performance-Based National Detention Standards, and the 2011 Performance-Based National Detention Standards (SPLC 2019, 6). Some facilities, such as the center in Glades County, only follow the 2000 guidelines. Many of these standards are outdated and fail to address the needs of detainees. For instance, standards set prior to 2011 fail to address women's health care and mental health care.

(Kennedy 2020)

(Kennedy 2020)

It is evident that people in the custody of ICE need a helping hand. An injunction ordered by Miami-based U.S. District Judge Marcia G. Cooke has offered a small glimpse of hope in a seemingly worsening situation. In a 40-page order, Judge Cooke mandated that ICE immediately comply with CDC guidelines by providing detainees with unrestricted access to soap, masks, and other cleaning supplies (Hale 2020). This is just one area in which the judiciary has had to step in and remedy the shortcomings of ICE during an unprecedented time of mass human rights violations, and it represents a small step in the right direction.

A lack of enforcement of national standards, combined with unsanitary conditions and overcrowding, has made South Florida’s immigrant detention facilities hotbeds of human rights and public health concerns. In a time where health has become of great importance, we must take into account the individuals who are often left without a voice. The consequences of inadequate medical care are numerous, and the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the already vulnerable immigrant detention apparatus and has continued to exasperate the plight of detainees.

How can you help migrants in South Florida facilities?

Call your local, state, and national representatives:

Donate directly to organizations supporting immigrant’s rights

 

 References