A dose of the covid-19 vaccine reduces infections 0:44
(CNN) -
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) urges the Biden government to offer the covid-19 vaccine to detained immigrants, citing the rapid spread of the coronavirus in detention centers. According to a letter sent to the Department of Homeland Security and obtained by CNN, in the course of the coronavirus pandemic, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers clashed to a growing number of positive cases, with a total of more than 15,000 confirmed cases and nine deaths. As of May 25, there were 1,495 positive COVID-19 cases in ICE custody, according to agency data.
The ACLU, which filed dozens of lawsuits against ICE during the pandemic, called the lack of a vaccination strategy for the detained population a "failure" in a letter sent Thursday to the Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, and the director at ICE functions, Tae Johnson.
ICE's failure to ensure a coordinated vaccination strategy continues to endanger detainees across the country, "the letter reads, adding:" Meanwhile, covid-19 outbreaks continue to spread in centers. nationwide, putting the health and safety of detainees at risk despite ICE's duty to protect those in its custody, in violation of their constitutional rights.
There are more than 22,000 immigrants in ICE custody.
In a statement, ICE said it is "firmly committed to the health and well-being of all those in its custody" and that the Chief Medical Officer of the Department of Homeland Security "is working rapidly on expanding our own internal capacity to vaccinate detainees in our care throughout the country.
ICE previously described vaccination procedures in a document titled "Response Requirements to the Covid-19 Pandemic," in which detention centers are held responsible for contacting their state's vaccination resource, such as the state or country health department to obtain vaccines.
House Speaker Bennie Thompson also called for an investigation Thursday into alleged violations of ICE pandemic response requirements at the Adams County Detention Center, Mississippi, including the grouping of detainees. in tight spaces and a lack of disinfection supplies.
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Only a limited number of people have been vaccinated, in part due to different priority guidelines between states, Johnson told lawmakers earlier this month.
"Because of this kind of variation, we've been looking into working with the CDC and HHS to see if we can source our own batch of vaccines and deploy them across the country for the ICE detainee population," Johnson said.
As of May 5, 2,707 detainees have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and 1,229 detainees are fully vaccinated, according to Johnson.
Mayorkas said Wednesday that plans to offer COVID-19 vaccines to detainees are "under study."
"It's something we're looking at very carefully," Mayorkas told Democratic Rep. Lauren Underwood when asked about plans to vaccinate the detained population during a House Appropriations subcommittee hearing.
But lead attorney for the ACLU's National Prison Project, Eunice Hyunhye Cho, called the delay "unacceptable."
"It is literally a matter of life and death," Cho told CNN.
"This was a completely predictable matter and ICE has failed to protect the people in its custody."
The ACLU outlined a list of expectations in its letter Thursday, including providing COVID-19 vaccines in detention centers for both detainees and staff, ensuring that linguistically and culturally appropriate educational materials are provided to individuals. about the vaccine and making sure detainees receive a vaccine shortly after requesting it.
Undocumented immigrantsvaccine against covid-19
