Take Action for Human Rights

Call On Texas Governor Abbott to Urge ICE to Free Detained Immigrants & Asylum-Seekers

©Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images

“I fear me, my daughter, and my unborn fetus will die if we become sick in detention… I am most afraid because I cannot keep a sufficient distance from other people to keep myself safe from contracting the virus if they have it.” — A pregnant mother from Honduras, detained with her 4-year-old daughter at the South Texas Family Residential Center

Tens of thousands of immigrants and asylum-seekers are trapped in ICE detention facilities across the U.S., where they cannot be physically distant from each other, face an 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.

Thousands of people, including hundreds of children and parents, are detained in the state of Texas.

At the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley and the Karnes County Residential Center, staff failed to provide families with COVID-19 education, hand sanitizer, or adequate protective or cleaning supplies, despite some detained immigrants having pre-existing health conditions and others showing symptoms of COVID-19. After transfers from out-of-state detention facilities, there was a sharp spike in COVID-19 cases at the Prairieland ICE facility.

Governor Greg Abbott 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 Families Belong Together, Human Rights First, Human Rights Watch, Innovation Law Lab, National Immigrant Justice Center, OCA — Asian Pacific American Advocates, Oxfam America, Physicians for Human Rights, RAICES — the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services, and the Women's Refugee Commission in Texas. Make your voice heard!

⬇ Make Your Voice Heard ⬇

Governer

Greg

Abbott

Texas

Dear Governor Abbott:

Given the humanitarian challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic and your responsibility to protect the
public health of Texas 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 Texas.

-   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 Texas 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.