PUBLIC HEALTH ADVOCACY LETTERS
Letters to Local Public Health Departments
ICE detention standards require facilities to collaborate and comply with federal, state, and/or local authorities addressing public health issues, including communicable diseases. IDA, along with community partners has reached out to local public health departments to clarify what role and responsibility they have to protect the health and safety of those in detention, as well as the broader community.
Letters From State and Federal Officials
Written Materials
CCIJ & IDA Policy Brief – ICE Detention and Public Health
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) recently issued a set of mandatory requirements for all detention facilities nationwide in response to COVID-19. These requirements include detailed instructions for operations inside facilities and mandate coordination with local and state health agencies. Thus, ICE’s own requirements include a role for state and local officials in ensuring proper health standards in its facilities. The guidelines are also particularly important in regulating the conduct of for-profit corporations operating ICE detention facilities. These contractors must strictly adhere to the terms of their contracts as well as ICE’s new mandatory standards. Private operators who act in violation of their contracts or mandatory requirements are violating the law and should be subject to liability by state and local authorities.