Immigration § 2241 habeas TRO. Individuals had a number of serious health conditions and the court did not discuss criminal charges or convictions. The court rejected the government's threshhold argument that the individual habeas petitions needed to be severed. As to the merits, the court held that while ICE "has set in motion various steps to improve health and sanitation" at the relevant facilities, individuals were only being monitored based on symptoms, social distancing was not being practiced, there was a lack of hygiene products, no systematic testing, and people were being cohorted rather than adequately quarantined. As a result, the the facilities' "measures likely result in some reduction of risk of infection, but they are insufficient." Fact that some individuals were mandatorily detained under § 1226(c) did not preclude relief. In addition to ordering the individuals released, the court prohibited ICE from re-arresting the petitioners on civil immigration grounds without court permission.
Immigrant Detention, Pre-Existing Health Conditions
Release Granted
Yes
Compassionate Release Case
No
Case Tracking Number
1:20-cv-03170-AT
MORE CASE INFORMATION
Court Name
S.D.N.Y.
Decision
Motion Granted
Place of Incarceration
Immigrant Detention
Name of Facility
Bergen County Correctional Facility; Essex County Correctional Facility; Orange County Correctional Facility
Legal Authority
Substantive Due Process - Deliberate Indifference (both 14th and 5th Amendments)
Legal Authority
§ 2241 Habeas
Release Conditions
To be determined, ICE "RESTRAINED from arresting Petitioners for civil immigration detention purposes unless Respondents first obtain the Court’s permission."
Case Status
Decision Made But Case Still Pending
Pre-Existing Health Conditions
Age, Anxiety, Asthma, Cognitive Disability, Depression, Diabetes, Lung Disease, Other, PTSD, Schizophrenia, Serious and Persistent Mental Illness (SPMI), Smoking, Compromised immune system, severe chronic pain, cirrhosis, prostate problems, deformities of the nose
COVID-19 Positive or Symptomatic
Not discussed
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.