Take Action for Human Rights

Call On Pennsylvania Governor Wolf to Urge ICE to Free Detained Immigrants & Asylum-Seekers

©Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images

“When she coughs, it’s like an old man who coughs ‐ you can hear her coughing in another room.” — Lawyers describing a 6‐month‐old detained at the Berks family detention facility since February.

Tens of thousands of immigrants and asylum-seekers are trapped in ICE detention facilities across the U.S., where they cannot practice physical distancing, face increased risk of contracting COVID-19 in overcrowded conditions, and have limited access to medical care. These jails run the risk of becoming incubators for COVID-19.

There are hundreds of individuals and families detained in the state of Pennsylvania. At the Berks detention facility in March and April, families reported:

• Parents and children were sick with coughs, congestion, and fever while staff exhibited similar cold‐like symptoms;

• Families did not have access to hand sanitizer or adequate soap, and were only provided gloves to clean the facility or their rooms;

• After displaying COVID-19-like symptoms, a 5‐year‐old girl was sent to the hospital with her mother for testing. ICE refused to tell her lawyers whether she was tested for COVID-19 and, if so, what the results were.

Governor Tom Wolf can use his public health authority to pressure ICE to substantially reduce its immigration detention populations in facilities in the state, mitigate the otherwise inevitable spread of COVID-19, and protect immigrants and asylum-seekers.

While representing different organizational views and calls to action, AIUSA is joining together with Aldea — The People’s Justice Center, Families Belong Together, Human Rights First, Human Rights Watch, National Immigrant Justice Center, Never Again Action, OCA - Asian Pacific American Advocates, Oxfam America, Physicians for Human Rights, and the Women’s Refugee Commission to demand Governor Wolf to take action to protect immigrants and asylum-seekers in Pennsylvania.

Make your voice heard!

Last updated 7 May 2020

⬇ Make Your Voice Heard ⬇

Chief of Staff

Mike

Brunelle

State of Pennsylvania

Dear Governor Wolf:

Given the humanitarian challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic and your responsibility to protect the public health of Pennsylvania residents, I call on  you to urge Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to immediately and substantially reduce occupancy in facilities detaining immigrants and asylum-seekers in Pennsylvania.

- The release of these individuals from detention is both necessary and legally authorized under existing federal laws and regulations. Detaining large numbers of people during the pandemic not only places those detained and staff at severe risk but also threatens the health and safety of the broader public. For this same reason, transfers of individuals between detention facilities, or from state and local jails to detention facilities, must be restricted.

- Given the documented inadequacies of medical care and basic hygiene in immigration detention facilities, it is of vital importance for state public health authorities to address the state-wide risk posed by crowded immigration detention facilities. Public health experts have estimated that 72 percent to nearly 100 percent of detained immigrants could contract COVID-19 within three months if ICE facilities are not drastically depopulated, overwhelming local hospital capacity.

- The immediate parole and release of detained immigrants and asylum-seekers would be safe and manageable. Many detained immigrants are longtime residents of the U.S. who were taken from established lives in this country, and many others, including asylum-seekers, have close ties to family, faith, and other community members who would house them. There are many community and faith-based organizations ready and able to assist immigrants and asylum-seekers who lack such existing support networks.

- For all those released, ICE should also be expected to communicate with the individual released, their attorney, and family, as well as with community and local health resources, to ensure any necessary care and to coordinate safe travel arrangements for individuals who are released far from their homes or sponsors.

The release of immigrants is warranted in the public interest to reduce the number of individuals in detention to limit the spread of COVID-19 to both detained individuals and staff and ensure that medical staff -- and area hospitals -- have the capacity to manage any cases that may arise.

As the government official responsible for the health and safety of your state’s residents, I urge you to take all possible actions to pressure ICE to release immigrants and asylum-seekers detained in Pennsylvania without delay and that all appropriate steps are taken to protect them, facility staff, and the broader public from the threat posed by the COVID-19 pandemic in ICE detention facilities.

Sincerely,

{user_data~First Name} {user_data~Last Name}

First Name

Last Name

Email Address

Address 1

City

State

Postcode

Country

Phone Number

Amnesty Action Alerts & Updates — I would like to receive emails about urgent human rights campaigns and victories.