SITUATION REPORT: PANDEMIC AT THE BORDER

A new report from the Hope Border Institute finds that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has not only failed to protect detainees from COVID-19, but also actively facilitated the spread of the virus by continuing unsafe practices. “For example, ICE continues to transfer detainees between facilities, greatly increasing the risk of contagion. Reports from detained migrants also indicate that COVID positive detainees have been removed and then returned to barracks and co-mingled with the general population while still sick,” writes Hannah Hollandbyrd, the lead author of the report.

Outside the detention facilities, the virus is causing havoc in the border region.   California’s Imperial County, a largely Latino and low-income community along the U.S./Mexican border, has seen nearly triple the number of COVID cases per capita of Los Angeles County, the largest county in the nation. “There is no single reason for Imperial County’s plight, but inequalities loom large,” reports Elliot Spagat for the Associated Press. “Imperial is 85% percent Latino, with elevated rates of diabetes and obesity. Wind-blown dust contributes to asthma. Its 21% poverty rate is among California’s highest. Crowded, multigeneration households spread the virus quickly.”

KJ