Free 10 ICE Detainees Over Coronavirus Concern, Judge Says

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK — Ten ICE detainees will walk free from county jails after a judge ruled the new coronavirus posed a greater risk to their already-precarious health than they do to society.

Suspected civil immigration violations brought the detainees into jails with confirmed COVID-19 cases, according to an order issued Thursday by Eastern District of New York Judge Analisa Torres.

Keeping them in jail on minor violations while an outbreak poses a major risk to people like them with underlying health conditions showed a deliberate indifference, Torres wrote.

"In the highly unusual circumstances posed by the COVID-19 crisis, the continued detention of aging or ill civil detainees does not serve the public’s interest," Torres wrote.

Brooklyn Defender Services represented the detainees, who all have chronic medical conditions such as asthma, diabetes or respiratory problems that make them vulnerable to coronavirus, according to the order.

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They were all being held in New Jersey county jails, the order states.

Torres wrote ICE didn't provide a single specific reason for their continued detention amid the outbreak. She ordered the detainees released immediately.

Brooklyn Defender Services attorney Andrea Saenz praised the order.

“We felt like we had no time to lose, with ICE ignoring our requests for release, and brought as many clients as we could to the attention of the federal court as fast as we could, asking them to hold ICE accountable," she wrote in a statement.

Advocates have been increasing pressure on New York City officials to release vulnerable inmates during the outbreak.

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