Illegal Aliens are Begging to be Released From Detention Centers as Wuhan Virus Spreads
Jose Nino
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U.S. District Judge John Jones recently ordered ICE to release 11 chronically ill detainees from a Pennsylvania detention center. He rationalized this order on the grounds that he could not sign off on an “unconscionable and barbaric” scenario of detainees contracting the Wuhan Virus.
ICE facilities “are plainly not equipped to protect Petitioners from a potentially fatal exposure to COVID-19,” asserted Jones, who ordered an another 22 ICE detainees were released on April 7, 2020. “If we are to remain the civilized society we hold ourselves out to be, it would be heartless and inhumane not to recognize Petitioners’ plight. And so we will act.”
That lack of testing at these facilities motivated lawyers to file lawsuits, according to Eunice Cho, a senior staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union who is presiding over a dozen lawsuits the organization filed in recent weeks.
“We are fully aware of the magnitude of this problem and are deeply concerned about the health and welfare of all the detainees currently locked up in these facilities,” Cho claimed.
U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee in California is even considering a request to fast-track the release of about 7,000 unaccompanied minors after HHS said four children in its custody in New York tested positive for the Wuhan Virus in addition to eight staffers, contractors and foster parents in New York, Washington and Texas.
U.S. District Judge James Boasberg of Washington is considering a request to release about 1,350 members of migrant families who are being held at three family detention centers in Pennsylvania and Texas.
Ricky Williamson, who is currently being detained at Mesa Verde, said he recently told a judge in immigration court that he was dropping his case to stay in the U.S. because he would prefer to be deported to his native United Kingdom than wait for the virus to spread throughout the detention center. Although the U.K. is experiencing its own Wuhan Virus outbreak, Williamson said he would like to enjoy the freedom of wearing gloves and a mask than stay in an ICE facility.
“It was the hardest decision of my life,” Williamson declared. “At least if I’m free, I can do my own stuff to prevent getting it.”
Martin Alvarez Garcia reached a similar conclusion. After having a cough and sore throat for more than two weeks, doctors at the ICE facility rejected his request for a Wuhan Virus test because he didn’t have a fever. Alvarez then decided to waive his right to appeal his deportation order.
“I would honestly rather sign and go back to my country than risk myself getting infected,” he asserted. “I don’t feel safe anywhere in Mexico, but I have no choice.”
Self-deportation, while not enough to stop America’s mass migration dilemma, is very much welcome.
The U.S. must focus on serving its people and not worry about allocating resources on illegal aliens.
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