A Federal District Judge in California ordered rapid testing of detainees at an ICE detention center following an outbreak. (Photo: Erik McGregor/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Aug 06, 2020
A federal judge on Thursday ordered the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) to find and implement rapid on-site testing following an outbreak that hospitalized two detainees and infected at least seven others at a California detention facility.
U.S. District Court Judge Vince Chhabria also ordered ICE not to take in any new detainees at the Mesa Verde Detention Facility, where the outbreak occurred, and the implementation of a dorm set up for Covid-19 positive detainees. In the ruling, Chhabria noted the brazen email correspondence between ICE officials and GEO Group, Inc., the private for-profit company that manages the facility and that appeared to show blatant disregard for the health and safety of detainees.
"The defendants, having responded to the health crisis in such a cavalier fashion (even in the face of litigation and a string of court orders), have lost the credibility to complain that the relief requested by the plaintiffs is too rigid or burdensome," Chhabria wrote in the ruling. "The defendants have also lost the right to be trusted that they will accomplish on their own what the plaintiffs contend requires a court order to ensure."
\u201cEmails reveal that ICE directed GEO Group to deny staff & people detained at the Mesa Verde detention center #COVID19 testing over fears of what the test results would reveal.\n\nICE reckless & cruel response to the pandemic puts ALL of our health at risk. #DefundHate #FreeThemAll\u201d— Detention Watch Network (DWN) (@Detention Watch Network (DWN)) 1596745306
The ruling comes as activists and health advocates continue to push for the release of detainees in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has wreaked havoc on residential living facilities, prisons and detention centers throughout the country.
"ICE continues to demonstrate its failure to act to prevent a [Covid-19] crisis, which has devastating consequences to those in its custody," San Francisco's Public Defender Manohar Raju said Thursday. "This is particularly unconscionable as Mesa Verde is currently facing an entirely preventable [Covid-19] outbreak."
According to The Washington Post,Roughly 4,000 people in ICE facilities have tested positive for Covid-19 since it began.
An Unconstitutional Rampage
Trump and Musk are on an unconstitutional rampage, aiming for virtually every corner of the federal government. These two right-wing billionaires are targeting nurses, scientists, teachers, daycare providers, judges, veterans, air traffic controllers, and nuclear safety inspectors. No one is safe. The food stamps program, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are next. It’s an unprecedented disaster and a five-alarm fire, but there will be a reckoning. The people did not vote for this. The American people do not want this dystopian hellscape that hides behind claims of “efficiency.” Still, in reality, it is all a giveaway to corporate interests and the libertarian dreams of far-right oligarchs like Musk. Common Dreams is playing a vital role by reporting day and night on this orgy of corruption and greed, as well as what everyday people can do to organize and fight back. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
A federal judge on Thursday ordered the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) to find and implement rapid on-site testing following an outbreak that hospitalized two detainees and infected at least seven others at a California detention facility.
U.S. District Court Judge Vince Chhabria also ordered ICE not to take in any new detainees at the Mesa Verde Detention Facility, where the outbreak occurred, and the implementation of a dorm set up for Covid-19 positive detainees. In the ruling, Chhabria noted the brazen email correspondence between ICE officials and GEO Group, Inc., the private for-profit company that manages the facility and that appeared to show blatant disregard for the health and safety of detainees.
"The defendants, having responded to the health crisis in such a cavalier fashion (even in the face of litigation and a string of court orders), have lost the credibility to complain that the relief requested by the plaintiffs is too rigid or burdensome," Chhabria wrote in the ruling. "The defendants have also lost the right to be trusted that they will accomplish on their own what the plaintiffs contend requires a court order to ensure."
\u201cEmails reveal that ICE directed GEO Group to deny staff & people detained at the Mesa Verde detention center #COVID19 testing over fears of what the test results would reveal.\n\nICE reckless & cruel response to the pandemic puts ALL of our health at risk. #DefundHate #FreeThemAll\u201d— Detention Watch Network (DWN) (@Detention Watch Network (DWN)) 1596745306
The ruling comes as activists and health advocates continue to push for the release of detainees in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has wreaked havoc on residential living facilities, prisons and detention centers throughout the country.
"ICE continues to demonstrate its failure to act to prevent a [Covid-19] crisis, which has devastating consequences to those in its custody," San Francisco's Public Defender Manohar Raju said Thursday. "This is particularly unconscionable as Mesa Verde is currently facing an entirely preventable [Covid-19] outbreak."
According to The Washington Post,Roughly 4,000 people in ICE facilities have tested positive for Covid-19 since it began.
A federal judge on Thursday ordered the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) to find and implement rapid on-site testing following an outbreak that hospitalized two detainees and infected at least seven others at a California detention facility.
U.S. District Court Judge Vince Chhabria also ordered ICE not to take in any new detainees at the Mesa Verde Detention Facility, where the outbreak occurred, and the implementation of a dorm set up for Covid-19 positive detainees. In the ruling, Chhabria noted the brazen email correspondence between ICE officials and GEO Group, Inc., the private for-profit company that manages the facility and that appeared to show blatant disregard for the health and safety of detainees.
"The defendants, having responded to the health crisis in such a cavalier fashion (even in the face of litigation and a string of court orders), have lost the credibility to complain that the relief requested by the plaintiffs is too rigid or burdensome," Chhabria wrote in the ruling. "The defendants have also lost the right to be trusted that they will accomplish on their own what the plaintiffs contend requires a court order to ensure."
\u201cEmails reveal that ICE directed GEO Group to deny staff & people detained at the Mesa Verde detention center #COVID19 testing over fears of what the test results would reveal.\n\nICE reckless & cruel response to the pandemic puts ALL of our health at risk. #DefundHate #FreeThemAll\u201d— Detention Watch Network (DWN) (@Detention Watch Network (DWN)) 1596745306
The ruling comes as activists and health advocates continue to push for the release of detainees in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has wreaked havoc on residential living facilities, prisons and detention centers throughout the country.
"ICE continues to demonstrate its failure to act to prevent a [Covid-19] crisis, which has devastating consequences to those in its custody," San Francisco's Public Defender Manohar Raju said Thursday. "This is particularly unconscionable as Mesa Verde is currently facing an entirely preventable [Covid-19] outbreak."
According to The Washington Post,Roughly 4,000 people in ICE facilities have tested positive for Covid-19 since it began.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.