Immigrant advocates and San Francisco’s public defender are suing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to substantially reduce the population at two detention centers in California, saying it’s the only way of protecting detainees from coronavirus.
This is the first class action lawsuit filed on behalf of the more than 400 people detained by ICE at the Yuba County Jail and a facility in Bakersfield.
None has yet been diagnosed with COVID-19, but advocates say that — unless ICE can reduce crowding — it’s just a matter of time.
“Despite consensus among public health experts that these conditions will lead to an outbreak of the deadly coronavirus, ICE has consistently failed to take necessary steps to protect the health of the people detained,” said San Francisco Public Defender Mano Raju in a press release. “We cannot sit and watch our clients suffer in these outrageous conditions — we have to use whatever legal tools we have to protect them.”
More than 200 ICE detainees have tested positive across the country.