U.S. Sees First Detained Immigrant Death From Of Covid-19

A vehicle drives into the Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego, Calif. on June 9, 2017. Elliot Spagat—AP

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A 57 year old man who became ill while in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody in California died Wednesday as a result of a covid-19 infection. The first covid-19 related death of an ICE detainee in the United States. San Diego County health officials confirmed that the man was hospitalized in late April after showing covid-19 related symptoms at ICE’s Otay Mesa Detention Center which has the county’s largest outbreak cluster. More than 132 detainees there have tested positive for the disease caused by the covid-19 based on the according to ICE data. ICE officials did not respond to a request for comment about the fatality late Wednesday. The detainee who died Wednesday was identified by his sister as Carlos Escobedo Mejia. Mejia came to the United States decades ago with his family after war broke out in his home country of El Salvador. ICE agents arrested him in January and authorities placed in him in the Otay Mesa facility.

According to his sister, Rosa Escobedo Mejia, Mejia who had diabetes later spent days vomiting and complaining of pain. At one point, he stopped eating. According to a recorded interview with his sister that was released by advocates who have been in touch with the family. They lock them up like animals and everyone was getting infected.

The ICE detention center operated by private prison contractor Core Civic and others like it across the country in Virginia, Texas and Louisiana have become the targets of lawsuits and protests as covid-19 infections have risen among the captive populations. More than 700 immigration detainees have tested positive for the covid-19 since the outbreak began in February according to ICE data. Amid concerns about the outbreaks among confined people U.S. District Court Judge Dana Sabraw of the Southern District of California ordered ICE to release dozens of medically vulnerable detainees those who are over the age of 60 or have preexisting health conditions after the American Civil Liberties Union in San Diego filed a lawsuit seeking to protect those in custody.

The federal government reported in court filings that two people have been released and 72 should be released by the weekend using the medically vulnerable standard. ICE and CoreCivic have identified more than 130 detainees who fit that definition or about one in five of the ICE detainees in custody there. Officials at CoreCivic’s national offices and at Otay Mesa did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday.

The ACLU argued that the risk of exposure is grave for detainees who cannot practice social distancing while held. The conditions of confinement violate their rights to be safe and well in government custody and releasing individuals is the safest option. ACLU attorney Monika Y. Langarica said, Mejia’s death is exactly the kind of thing advocates were hoping to prevent.

Langarica said, we did not want it to get here. We did everything we could to prevent this but the government has been on put on notice and they failed to act. ICE and CoreCivic said in court filings that they are following guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention by providing personal protective equipment when needed, disinfecting surfaces supplying soap to every housing unit and isolating those who are sick. The agency reported that 39 ICE employees at detention centers nationwide have tested positive for the covid-19 but that count does not include infections among private contractors. ICE reported that nearly 1,500 detainees have been tested nationwide.

California has released hundreds of state inmates to prevent outbreaks, while prisons in Texas and elsewhere are struggling to contain the spread of the virus. The outbreak at Otay Mesa represents the largest single cluster in San Diego County, officials said. Local attorneys say the facility’s response is inadequate, which they say is reflected in the sharp surge of infections in recent weeks.