Pressure on ICE to Release Detained Illegal Aliens; First Case of Alien with Coronavirus is in NJ

Never letting a good crisis go to waste, the Open Borders Left wants illegal aliens released from detention arguing that sooner or later, COVID-19 is coming for them.

Hope all of you are surviving your own incarcerations at home. Sorry I haven’t written much here lately, but I have been busy at Refugee Resettlement Watch.  You might be interested to know that although the regular refugee admissions program has been temporarily halted by the UN (yes, the UN drives the refugee train), special visa holders from Afghanistan are still being flown into America.

Here is news on the demands to free many of the 37,000 detainees ICE has in custody around the country.  From Democracy Now (so this is obviously a Leftwing perspective):

Former ICE Director: Release Immigrants from Detention or COVID-19 Will Spread Like Wildfire Inside

Alarm is growing about the safety of more than 37,000 people held in immigrant detention centers and private jails that contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, where it is nearly impossible for them to avoid close contact to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Nearly half of those detained by ICE are accused of no crime other than civil immigration violations. Immigrants at three jails in New Jersey are now on hunger strikes over unsanitary conditions that put them at high risk during the pandemic.

We hear from a detained person on hunger strike and speak with John Sandweg, former acting director of ICE during the Obama administration, who is calling for ICE to release thousands from detention, and Angelica Salas, executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, or CHIRLA, which just led a national effort to stop immigration enforcement actions.

[….]

ICE says there are no confirmed cases of coronavirus among detained immigrants at the facilities it runs, but at least one worker has tested positive at the Elizabeth Detention Center in New Jersey who’s a member of the medical staff. Meanwhile, two people held at the Hudson County Correctional Facility in New Jersey have tested positive. Like detention centers, the jail holds people detained for civil immigration offenses and is now on lockdown for two weeks. Immigrants at Hudson and two other New Jersey jails are now on hunger strikes over unsanitary conditions amidst the pandemic.

[….]

On Sunday, the group Never Again Action organized a protest with nearly a hundred cars outside the Hudson County Detention Center to demand New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy release people being held there. Never Again also held an in-car protest outside California Governor Gavin Newsom’s home to call for the release of detainees.

By the way, I searched in vain for any photos of their “hundred cars” and found nothing.  Continue reading if you feel like it.

Well, they got what they have been waiting for…..

ICE announced yesterday that the first detainee (this one in NJ) has tested positive for COVID-19.

First ICE detainee tests positive for coronavirus

A 31-year-old Mexican national is the first detainee in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody to test positive for the novel coronavirus, the agency announced Tuesday.

The detainee, who has been held at the Bergen County Jail in Hackensack, New Jersey, has been quarantined and is receiving care, ICE said, adding that the agency “is suspending intake at the facility until further information is available.”

“Consistent with CDC guidelines, those who have come in contact with the individual have been cohorted and are being monitored for symptoms,” ICE said.

[….]

Confirmation of an ICE detainee in New Jersey contracting the novel coronavirus comes days after the state’s chief justice said he was ordering the release of hundreds of county jail inmates due to the dangers posed by the disease.

Immigrant advocates and some lawmakers have been calling for ICE to take a similar approach, warning that deadly consequences could result if the disease spreads in ICE facilities that have long faced criticism for how they handle even routine medical care.

Deport them faster says CIS!

Advocates’ campaigns for immigration detainees to be released have drawn sharp criticism from organizations that support the government’s crackdown on illegal immigration. Some have argued the US should instead increase the pace of deportations to lower the number of people detained.

See what CIS said here last week:

Test and Remove Alien Detainees as Quickly as Possible

Don’t let them stack up like cord wood, and don’t release them into the streets of America

Sounds like a good idea to me!  If they want to be with their families, the families can join them in Mexico, Central America or wherever else they came from.