Two individuals in immigrant detention, with medical concerns including hypertension, skin cancer, lymphedema, and compromised immune system, were granted release on a PI. One individual had previously been denied release because there were no suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the prison; however, one suspected case was since discovered but the prison decided not to test, which the court described as evidence of deliberate indifference. The court noted that even though internal records marked someone as a suspected case, an ICE medical official submitted a sworn declaration stating that there were no known or suspected cases, which the court found was "demonstrably false."
Coreas v. Bounds (Coreas III), No. 8:20-cv-00780-TDC, Dkt. No. 93 (D. Md. May 7, 2020)
DETAILS
Decision
Date
5/7/2020
Practice Area
Immigration
Relief Requested
Preliminary Injunction (PI), Release
Type of Court
Federal District Court
Location
Maryland
Type of Case
Group
Case Characteristics
Immigrant Detention, Pre-Existing Health Conditions
Release Granted
Yes
Compassionate Release Case
No
Case Tracking Number
8:20-cv-00780-TDC
MORE CASE INFORMATION
Court Name
D. Md.
Decision
Motion Granted
Place of Incarceration
Immigrant Detention
Name of Facility
Worcester County Detention Center
Legal Authority
Substantive Due Process - Deliberate Indifference (both 14th and 5th Amendments), Substantive Due Process - Punitive Detention (both 14th and 5th Amendments)
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.