All around the world, many countries practice the law of confinement of undocumented and immigrants and non-citizens. However, the U.S. has recorded the highest number of incarcerated non-citizens in the world and has been seeing exponential growth in the number ever since 2005. With the rapid spread of coronavirus pandemic changing lives around the societies in the world, the treatment of the immigrant detainees in custody are being brought into the limelight.
These immigrant detainees are often kept in detention centres with overcrowded rooms and squalid conditions, making it almost impossible to implement “social distancing” and receive complete isolation. These detainees are particularly vulnerable to spread the infection. In light of this situation, Hemanth Gundavaram, a professor of Law at Northeastern University, said, “When we talk about vulnerable groups, right now people are focusing only on people of a certain age or who are immunocompromised. However, immigrants of all ages in detention are a different vulnerable group that very few people seem concerned about.”
In the meantime, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement recently confirmed its first positive case of coronavirus. The respiratory disease which has been taking the lives of thousand is capable of risking the lives of inmates as well as enforcement officers and agents. The risk is not only limited to the detainees and can spread to anyone coming in contact with them.
When asked about a solution, Gundavaram said, “Release is the only thing that makes sense, because our healthcare system is already overburdened. What other option is there?” To prevent the situation from escalating further, the American Civil Liberties decided to immediately release high-risk and elderly inmates to prevent the spread of the disease. The inmates are often deprived of proper medical care and Gundavaram fears that if the U.S. fails to take proper precautions, many lives will be lost.
He concluded by saying, “There is a lot of information coming out about people who have recovered from the virus but have persistent effects on their lungs and other organs. There is no way to predict what the long-term health effects might be and the harm that might be done to this often forgotten vulnerable population.”
Subarna Basu
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