After certifying a class of all those in immigration detention at facility, the court: (1) set up a procedure to hold many individual bond hearings for class members, (2) ordered testing, and (3) prohibited new admissions to the facility. The court held that the facility had shown deliberate indifference, because even though the facility had taken a number of steps to prevent the spread of COVID-19, ICE had: (a) opposed releases on a blanket basis, (b) lack of testing, and (c) lack of contact tracing. The court held that in ICE's response: "Where elasticity is vital, they are rigid; where life hangs upon a carefully drawn line, they opt for near blanket incarceration."
Savino v. Souza (Savino II), No. 20-cv-10617 (WGY), 2020 WL 2404923 (D. Mass. May 12, 2020)
The decision mentioned that there were some health conditions that elevated their risk from the virus, but did not specify which ones.
Class Action Medically Vulnerable People
Yes, but the decision did not define the class/subclass being discussed.
COVID-19 Positive or Symptomatic
Yes
COVID-19 in Jail Prison or Detention Center
Yes
Summary for Legal Filings or Templates
Potential Research
I think that the government's intransigence in releasing more than 6 individuals from custody voluntarily is very consistent with their positions, as we are seeing on the ground. ICE claims that they are releasing a lot of people, but the reality is that there are detainees with very minimal criminal history that ICE simply refuses to release.
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.