RMIAN AND COALITION OF MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS CALL FOR VACCINATION OF INDIVIDUALS IN IMMIGRATION DETENTION
RMIAN AND COALITION OF MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS CALL FOR VACCINATION OF INDIVIDUALS IN IMMIGRATION DETENTION
RMIAN and medical professionals urge the State of Colorado to prioritize COVID-19 vaccinations for individuals in immigration detention, citing the risks to the safety and wellbeing of detained people and the public health risks to the whole community.
February 8, 2021
Westminster, Colorado —Today, the Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network (RMIAN) and the Colorado Medical Coalition for Human Rights sent a letter to Governor Jared Polis and Jill Hunsaker Ryan, Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment, urging the state to prioritize COVID-19 vaccination for individuals in immigration detention in Colorado. The letter can be found here.
As well as posing health risks to and loss of due process rights for detained immigrants, outbreaks of COVID-19 within congregate care settings create public health risks for the whole community as these settings become epicenters of transmission and disease. The letter states, “During a pandemic when the actions of a few can impact the wellbeing of so many, accountability for those who run detention facilities is paramount. The humanitarian crisis posed by the spread of COVID-19 in immigration detention facilities in Colorado has disastrous consequences for those detained in these facilities, as well as neighboring communities.”
The Aurora Contract Detention Facility holds persons in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and is owned and operated by the corporation Geo Group, Inc. For eight months, since May 30, 2020, there has been an ongoing COVID-19 outbreak in the Aurora facility, where about one-third of dormitories are currently under quarantine. As of January 20, 2021, ICE reported 52 confirmed cases in detained people under isolation or monitoring and 181 cumulative cases. Immigrants in Colorado are also held at the Teller County Jail, in Divide, Colorado, and an Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) facility for unaccompanied minor children in Westminster. Yet, individuals in these facilities have not been vaccinated against COVID-19.
Dr. Janine Young, Associate Professor, Department of General Pediatrics, University of Colorado School of Medicine, urges the state to prioritize vaccine access for individuals in immigrant detention. She states, “On behalf of the Colorado Medical Coalition for Human Rights, we, as medical providers, have direct experience providing health care to individuals and communities that have been significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. We are acutely aware of the health risks COVID-19 poses to individuals held in congregate settings, including in the Immigrant Detention Center in Aurora, Colorado, as well as at the Office of Refugee Resettlement unaccompanied minor shelter for children in Westminster. It is of utmost importance that these individuals be prioritized to receive the COVID vaccination, given that many immigrants held at the Immigrant Detention Center have co-morbidities that increase their risk for medical complications from COVID-19 infection. Furthermore, the quarantining and isolation of COVID-19 exposed, or infected unaccompanied children and adults already held in detention is a form of toxic stress, something that is known to be harmful to both short and long-term health, particularly in developing children.”
Immigrants in detention facilities with ongoing COVID-19 outbreaks are denied access to the immigration court and due process protections. Laura Lunn, Managing Attorney of the Detention Program at RMIAN, states, “Immigrants in deportation proceedings have constitutional protections, including the right to a full and fair hearing, to counsel at no cost to the government, and to present evidence in support of their cases. During the pandemic, people in detention are struggling to access these rights because of increased isolation and restricted movement. Moreover, when people should be focused on preparing for life-altering legal proceedings, their minds are consumed by worry of contracting the virus. Absent a policy of ending civil detention, we must ensure safety and access to justice for our neighbors in immigration detention, first by prioritizing equitable distribution of vaccines.”
People confined in immigration detention are at high risk for contracting COVID-19. One RMIAN client, who tested positive for COVID while detained, who prefers to remain anonymous, states, “The scariest part of being in a detention facility during the pandemic is having to live in a pod with all different people, including people coming in from the outside, and not knowing if they are infected or not.”
The Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network (RMIAN) is a nonprofit organization that provides critical immigration legal services to individuals in immigration detention, as well as to children and families throughout Colorado. Additional information on RMIAN is available at www.rmian.org. Follow RMIAN on social media: Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network on Facebook, @RMIAN_org on Twitter. Join RMIAN’s mailing list here to receive RMIAN news and event information.
The Colorado Medical Coalition for Human Rights is a newly-formed coalition of medical providers in Colorado who are dedicated to the promotion of health and well-being of immigrant children, families, and individuals.