Ten transgender women who were under ICE custody motioned to (1) certify a class of transgender people held in ICE custody, (2) add two new named plaintiffs, and (3) request a temporary restraining order directing ICE to release all transgender individuals due to fifth amendment violations for failure to adequately protect transgender individuals from COVID-19. While most of the named petitioners are in good health, some of the individuals suffer from major and minor health conditions such as HIV, mild asthma, tachycardia, abnormal thyroid function, high hemoglobin count, and an active hepatitis A infection. The court denied class certification because the class differed in medical conditions and plaintiffs failed to offer evidence that transgender people are inherently more susceptible to COVID-19 at detention centers. When analyzing the due process claim, the court held that only the individuals with HIV showed a likelihood of success on the merits of their case and irreparable injury, but that none of the individual plaintiffs were to be released since a less intrusive remedy was available (improved conditions for the plaintiffs with HIV). The court also denied the plaintiffs’ APA claims because their claims were not based on final agency action and were not the type covered by the statute, and the court also held that the petitioners failed to make a cognizable mandamus claim. Lastly, the court denied the joinder of the two additional plaintiffs due to a lack of overlap in the facts giving rise to their claim and the existing plaintiffs’ claims.
C.G.B. v. Wolf, 464 F. Supp. 3d 174 (D.D.C. 2020)
DETAILS
Decision
Date
06/02/2020
Practice Area
Immigration
Relief Requested
Class Certification, Release, Temporary Restraining Order (TRO)
Type of Court
Federal District Court
Location
District of Columbia
Type of Case
Individual
Case Characteristics
Immigrant Detention, Pre-Existing Health Conditions
Release Granted
No
Compassionate Release Case
No
Case Tracking Number
1:20-cv-01072-CRC
MORE CASE INFORMATION
Court Name
D.D.C.
Decision
Motion Denied
Place of Incarceration
Immigrant Detention
Name of Facility
Florence Correctional Center, La Palma Correctional Center, Nevada Southern Detention Center, Aurora Detention Center, El Paso Processing Center
Legal Authority
Substantive Due Process - Deliberate Indifference (both 14th and 5th Amendments)
Existing or new detainees with CDC-designated risk factors and disabilities that quality them as subclass members.
COVID-19 Positive or Symptomatic
Yes
COVID-19 in Jail Prison or Detention Center
Yes
Litigation Database
Crowdsourced legal documents from around the country related to COVID-19 and incarceration, organized, collected, and summarized for public defenders, litigators, and other advocates. Created and managed by Bronx Defenders, Columbia Law School’s Center for Institutional and Social Change, UCLA Law COVID-19 Behind Bars Data Project, and Zealous. Mostly federal court opinions, but now expanding to states and legal filings, declarations, and exhibits.
This resource is designed to help lawyers, advocates, researchers, journalists, and others interested in challenging, remedying, or drawing attention to the grave risk that Covid-19 poses to individuals who are detained.