In-Depth Look at ICE

 

Government Documents Provide In-Depth Look at ICE’s Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic

In response to a lawsuit and a successful motion for a preliminary injunction, the Council and the Immigrant Legal Defense (ILD) secured multiple productions of government documents that illustrate ICE’s chaotic response to COVID-19 in ICE detention. The documents also detail widespread changes ICE was forced to implement following a court order in Fraihat v. ICE, a case challenging detention conditions and lack of medical treatment for individuals in ICE jails around the country. Following an injunction in Fraihat, ICE was forced to address various deficiencies in its response to COVID-19.  

The records obtained through FOIA demonstrate ICE’s confusion in its early response to the COVID-19 outbreak. For example, correspondence from the Committee on Appropriations to DHS officials demonstrates the Committee’s uncertainty and concern about ICE’s slow response at the outset of the pandemic. The documents also provide insight into the agency’s decision to continue removing individuals from the United States during the pandemic.

Also among the documents is pre-pandemic agency guidance regarding outbreaks of infectious diseases, records depicting ICE’s early response to COVID-19, and the pervasive impact of the pandemic on ICE operations and staff.

Finally, records reveal ICE’s expansive overhaul of its own COVID-19 response following the court’s injunction in Fraihat v. ICE. In Fraihat, a federal judge issued an order on April 20, 2020 requiring ICE to establish a process to identify and track people in ICE custody with relevant “Risk Factors”; conduct custody redeterminations for any detained people with Risk Factors; update internal ICE protocols for responding to the pandemic; and ensure that the order be implemented at every detention facility in the United States, among other actions.