Court rules in favor of migrant children

Since the massive COVID-19 outbreak reached the US, dozens of immigrant rights advocates have warned about the imminent risk present in immigration detention centers around the country.

These centers are normally overcrowded and they could become hotbeds of the virus since there is not enough space to have the appropriate social distancing recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Other than that, there are several conditions that worsen the danger in immigration detention centers:

1. There are not enough medical personnel to assist all detainees in the event of a health emergency.
2. There are hundreds of testimonies from immigrants who argue that hygiene conditions are not adequate in these centers and there are no established health protocols.
3. There is not always access to soap or hand sanitizer.
4. Apart from the fact that there is no space for social distancing, many detained immigrants have underlying health conditions that make them more vulnerable.

One of the biggest concerns for activists has been minor migrants who are detained with their families in an overcrowded environment, in the midst of a global pandemic.

Several lawsuits have been filed regarding this issue in recent weeks and that is why the Court decided to intervene and ruled in favor of minors detained in the centers of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE).

The court’s decision

On Friday, June 26, 2020, a judge from the Central District of California ordered the release of more than 120 underage immigrants detained in three family detention centers in Texas and Pennsylvania.

In the official statement, the judge argues that it is an abysmal risk to have minors detained with their parents in the midst of the global Coronavirus pandemic. In addition to that, in two of the detention centers there is already a massive outbreak and that worsens the situation for immigrant families.

That is why the judge ordered the release of migrant children and the deadline for ICE to comply with this ruling is July 17, 2020.

The order gives ICE two options:

1. Release minors with their parents.
2. Send minor migrants to a responsible sponsor.

The judge states that this process must be done as soon as possible to avoid a catastrophe inside ICE family detention centers.

Hope for immigrants

This news is a door of hope and joy for immigrants detained in ICE centers. On top of that, immigrant families now have the opportunity to be protected against the threat of the global Coronavirus pandemic.

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