LAFAYETTE, La. – Civil rights attorneys are asking a federal court to release a medically vulnerable immigrant detained at a Louisiana immigration detention where several detainees have tested positive for COVID-19.
MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund), and Mayeaux & Associates L.C. filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus Wednesday on behalf of Gregorio Castillo Menjivar, who is being held at the Pine Prairie ICE Processing Center.
Castillo, 26, is an asylum seeker from El Salvador who suffers from asthma, a condition that makes him especially vulnerable to the ravages of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
“As an asylum seeker, Mr. Castillo came to this country to be safe,” said Nina Perales, MALDEF vice president of Litigation. “Instead, the detention center failed to treat his asthma and has moved him repeatedly from one living arrangement to the next without regard to his risk of contracting COVID-19 and in violation of his constitutional rights.”
At issue are the conditions inside the detention center that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is responsible for operating. At Pine Prairie, the complaint says, guards wear personal protective equipment inconsistently, and detainees are only given one mask per week. Since January, Castillo has not had access to required medication for his condition although he frequently has trouble breathing and has complained of chest pains. While in custody, Castillo has been detained in a room with 80 other inmates which does not allow for the proper social distancing recommended to prevent the spread of the virus. PPPC had documented 30 cases of COVID-19, according to the complaint.
At issue are the conditions inside the detention center that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is responsible for operating. At Pine Prairie, the complaint says, guards wear personal protective equipment inconsistently, and detainees are only given one mask per week. Since January, Castillo has not had access to required medication for his condition although he frequently has trouble breathing and has complained of chest pains. While in custody, Castillo has been detained in a room with 80 other inmates which does not allow for the proper social distancing recommended to prevent the spread of the virus. PPPC had documented 30 cases of COVID-19, according to the complaint.
“Every day, Mr. Castillo Menjivar and other detainees with serious health conditions, across the U.S., are risking their lives by being kept in detention centers that are not being properly maintained to protect them from catching this deadly virus,” said Griselda Vega Samuel, MALDEF midwest regional counsel. “Our client described how terrifying it was to flee El Salvador to escape the gang violence in order to save his life; and now the terror continues as he is being held in a detention center that is putting his life at grave risk.”
MALDEF attorneys argue that federal officials are violating Castillo’s constitutional rights by failing to ensure that the Pine Prairie facility follows guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control.
The lawsuit names officials at ICE and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as defendants. Additional defendants include the warden of the Pine Prairie Ice Processing Center and New Orleans ICE Field Office director.
The suit claims that authorities’ failure to take steps to protect detainees from the coronavirus violates Mr. Castillo’s rights under the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Under the Fifth Amendment, the government must provide medical care and protect detainees from injury.
According to the complaint, as of June 22 ICE had tested 8,858 detainees and 2,403 — or more than 27 percent — were positive for COVID-19.
The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court, Western District of Louisiana, Lafayette Division.
Read the complaint HERE.