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Call On Washington Governor Inslee to Urge ICE to Free Detained Immigrants & Asylum-Seekers

© Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images

“We want to be released because, in here, there’s no protection from the virus... We are on a hunger strike because we know it’s not true that we will receive medical care here in NWDC. In our unit there are 80 people; at least 75 of us are on hunger strike today. Two other units have joined us with 20 to 50 people also on hunger strike.” — Detained individuals at the Northwest Detention 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 increased risk of infection 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 people detained in the state of Washington. Individuals detained at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma launched a hunger strike to protest their inadequate detention conditions and access to healthcare. Governor Inslee can use his public health authority to pressure ICE to substantially reduce its immigration detention population 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, National Immigrant Justice Center, Never Again Action, Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, OCA — Asian Pacific American Advocates, Oxfam America, Physicians for Human Rights, and the Women's Refugee Commission to demand Governor Inslee to take action to protect immigrants and asylum-seekers in Washington state.

⬇ Make Your Voice Heard ⬇

Governor

Jay

Inslee

Washington State

Dear Governor Inslee:

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

-   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 Washington 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,

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