Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Unrest Boils Up At Immigration Detention Centers Over Dirty Conditions And A Disturbing Lack Of Hygienic Supplies
ProPublica/The Texas Tribune: As Coronavirus Infections Spread, So Have Clashes Between ICE Detainees And Guards
As the coronavirus pandemic spreads, so have confrontations between detainees and guards at Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facilities across the country, the latest in Louisiana and Texas. The battles come as four people — two correctional officers and two detainees — tested positive for COVID-19 at New Jersey detention facilities. (Aguilar and Trevizo, 3/26)
San Francisco Chronicle: Coronavirus: SF D.A., Activists, Doctors Call For Undocumented Immigrants’ Release
Undocumented immigrants being held in proximity to one another in detention facilities across the country are at risk of contracting and spreading the coronavirus at alarming rates, said San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin, who on Thursday joined thousands of attorneys, doctors and immigration advocates across the country Thursday in calling for the detainees’ release. (Sanchez, 3/25)
Politico: Judge Orders Release Of 10 Immigration Detainees From N.J. Jails
A federal judge in New York City has ordered the immediate release from detention of 10 immigrants whose attorneys said they were at increased risk of illness from coronavirus due to underlying health conditions. The group, all held in New Jersey county jails and facing deportation proceedings in Manhattan, appears to be the largest in the nation subject to a court-ordered release since the pandemic broke out. (Gerstein, 3/26)
ABC News: ICE Detainees In Facilities With Coronavirus Cases Ordered Released By Judge
Immigrations and Customs Enforcement detainees must be immediately released from county jails where cases of novel coronavirus have been confirmed, a federal judge in New York ordered Thursday night. The 10 detainees asked for their release "because of the public health crisis posed by COVID-19," their petition said. (Katersky, 3/26)
CBS News: Citing Coronavirus Pandemic, Judges And ICE Attorneys Demand Closure Of Immigration Courts
Despite increasing demands for the Department of Justice to temporarily close all the nation's immigration courts due to the coronavirus pandemic, most courts remain open. Some courts have even reopened after the department confirmed people who were there tested positive for the virus. (Towey, 3/25)
Many are worried about the jail system as a whole as well —
The Wall Street Journal: Barr Tells Federal Prisons To Increase Use Of Home Confinement, Fearing Spread Of Coronavirus
Attorney General William Barr on Thursday directed the federal Bureau of Prisons to expand the use of home confinement for some sick and elderly inmates amid growing concern about the spread of the new coronavirus in the nation’s lockups. Mr. Barr told the agency in a memo to prioritize granting home confinement to inmates who were convicted of lower level crimes, have shown good conduct behind bars and have plans for release that won’t put them and others at greater risk for contracting the virus. (Gurman, 3/26)
The Washington Post: D.C. Jail, City Leaders Scramble After First Inmate Tests Positive For Covid-19, 36 Other Inmates Quarantined
The D.C. jail has quarantined 36 inmates officials think may have come into contact with a 20-year-old male inmate who tested positive for the novel coronavirus late Wednesday, jail officials said. Quincy L. Booth, director of the Department of Corrections, said in an interview Thursday that officials were continuing tracking to determine whether additional inmates, jail staff or other individuals might also have come in contact with the inmate. (Alexander, 3/26)
The Wall Street Journal: Coronavirus Pandemic Changes Policing, Including Fewer Arrests
Law and order is changing across America during the novel coronavirus pandemic, as police pull back on arrests for small-time crimes and instead focus on breaking up gatherings that pose health risks, all the while coping with the perils of a job that can’t be done with social distancing. In Houston, three officers have tested positive for the coronavirus after apprehending a mentally ill man on the streets last week who had flulike symptoms. (Elinson and Chapman, 3/27)
Houston Chronicle: Exclusive: Lina Hidalgo Seeking Compassionate Releases At Harris County Jail Due To Coronavirus
By the time the jail reported its first staffer with COVID-19, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo had spent days working on an executive order that would allow broad-scale compassionate releases of medically vulnerable, nonviolent inmates. But the effort has been complicated by an opinion from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, indicating to local officials the state may try to intervene. (Banks, 3/26)
WBUR: Powerful Sheriffs Rarely Held To Account As Families Fight For The Truth
The Davisons are among many families in Massachusetts that found themselves in the dark when a loved one died in a sheriff’s custody. Getting to the truth, and holding jail employees accountable, WBUR found, can be a frustrating battle that pits families against the legal resources of sheriffs and the state attorney general. For many, justice feels out of reach. (Willmsen and Healy, 3/26)
