March 25, 2020

Thomas P. Giles
Acting Director of Atlanta Field Office
Office of Enforcement & Removal Operations
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
180 Ted Turner Drive SW, Suite 422B
Atlanta, GA 30303

Dear Director Giles:

As public interest organizations committed to protecting civil and human rights, we at the
Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights (“GLAHR”) and Siembra North Carolina, whose
members and constituency include people detained at detention centers throughout Georgia, are
deeply concerned about the continuing detention of individuals at the Stewart Detention Center
as the threat of the illness COVID-19 by the coronavirus spreads throughout Georgia. ​We
request that ICE parole and release all individuals to their families and sponsors before the
virus spreads throughout the Stewart Detention Center.

Within your power under Section 212(d)(5)(A) of the Immigration & Nationality Act, the
Department of Homeland Security has the power to parole an immigrant for urgent humanitarian
reasons or significant public benefit. Further, 8 C.F.R. § 212.5(b)(1) specifically notes that one
scenario where humanitarian parole is justified is when the “alien has a serious medical condition
in which continued detention would not be appropriate.” The global health pandemic is such a
circumstance where parole is necessary.

As you may be aware, on March 24, 2020 as many as 350 individuals participated in hunger
strikes throughout the Stewart Detention Center. Individuals committed to such dire acts to call
attention to the lack of preparedness by the detention facility and Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE) to address COVID-19. There is growing panic among those who are
detained, particularly as many individuals detained suffer from pre-existing health conditions
that could lead to death or serious ailments if infected by the coronavirus.

Georgia now has more than 1,300 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including more than 400
hospitalizations. The Stewart Detention Center is 49 miles from ​Dougherty​ County, which has
the third-largest number of confirmed coronavirus infections in the state, and 20 miles away
from the nearest hospital. Nearly 2,000 people are incarcerated in incredibly close quarters and
dozens of detainees are still being brought to the facility each day. In calls received by our
organizations, immigrant detainees described desperate situations highlighting the lack of
preparedness COVID-19 by the detention facility and a growing sense of panic among those who
are detained as more individuals are brought to the detention center every day.

On Tuesday, members of Siembra NC detained at the Stewart Detention facility reported that
ICE officers held meetings with each group of approximately 62 detainees in at least six housing
blocks, and stated, "We don't care if you get sick. We don't care if you eat or don't. It's not my
problem. [It] isn't going to change anything." We are appalled by the crass comments and
indignant attitude these federal officials took in addressing immigrants in detention, as they
deserve to be treated humanely and with dignity.

Medical services in ICE detention facilities fall short of a basic standard of care. In the event of a
COVID-19 outbreak, the Stewart Detention Center will not be able to manage the health needs of
thousands of individuals detained. A recent complaint submitted to the Department by many
legal services organizations sheds light on the effects of growing roadblocks in access to basic
healthcare in detention due to chronic systemic medical neglect and lack of oversight in
detention.​ ​While ICE has adopted three sets of detention standards, including PBNDS 2011, it
does not require contractors to adopt any recent standards when it enters into new contracts or
contract extensions. The result is a “patchwork system in which facilities are subject to differing
standards and some are subject to no standards at all”, and people are outright denied access to
care, delayed in receiving medical attention, and are left in conditions that exacerbate their
physical and mental health ailments.

Detained individuals face an elevated risk of contracting COVID-19. People in detention are
highly vulnerable to outbreaks of contagious illnesses. They are housed in close quarters and are
often in poor health. Over 40 new detainees are brought into the facility each day. Detention
officers have taken temperatures of the individuals brought to the detention center; however,
none are tested for the virus even though CoreCivic states that it has purchased COVID-19
testing kits. What’s more, individuals detained informed us that facility employees do not take
basic precautions when they enter or exit the facility like using gloves or hand sanitizer. And
with 62 detainees sharing a single housing area, there are far too many people to practice any
form of social distancing as strongly advised by the Center for Disease Control.

Below are additional facts highlighting cases in which continuing detention will likely put
individuals in detention in grave danger:

● J.B., age 30, from Honduras, has underlying medical conditions that make him
particularly vulnerable to COVID-19. While CoreCivic says that they have “developed a
plan to separate high-risk individuals,” Barrientos’s wife, Denisse, of Houston, Texas
said, "[My husband] has a medical condition and he’s told me that Stewart is not making
any accommodations to protect him given his vulnerable condition. I'm so worried about
him right now.” Other detainees have reported similar experiences, showing a history of
medical neglect by facility staff. One detainee reported being unable to access his
diabetes medication for days and that he was forced to wait three or more days for an
appointment.

● V.Q.R., 32, of Mexico, expressed, "We're just waiting to get infected! They're not taking
the most basic coronavirus precautions at this place. If one of us gets infected, all of us
will, we are not able to stay 6 feet apart from each other, we share space with 62 other
people. We don't want to die here and it usually takes 3-4 days to get medical attention
here."
 ● Since Monday, many of the detainees, mostly from Mexico but also from Honduras,
Cuba, Perú, and other countries, whose families reside in North Carolina, Georgia, and
Texas have refused to enter the cafeteria, where 200 of them are squeezed at mealtimes,
and where they have recently had to eat from shared plates and have also refused to eat
food for purchase at the commissary.

We respectfully urge your office to release the individuals detained at the Stewart Detention
Center, upon findings that individuals are eligible for release and can be released to their families
or sponsors. The current practice of arbitrarily imprisoning individuals during this health crisis
leaves many individuals vulnerable to severe health problems and possibly death. In the public
interest, we believe it is imperative that you parole these individuals immediately.

We thank you for your time and would greatly appreciate the opportunity to further discuss this
matter with you. Please feel free to reach us at anicholls@glahr.org or (770) 457-5232 and
andrew@siembranc.org or 202-277-5262.

Sincerely,

Adelina Nicholls, Executive Director of the Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights

Andrew Willis Garces, Director of Siembra NC

Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights (GLAHR) educates, organizes, and trains the Latino
community in Georgia to defend and promote their civil and human rights.

Siembra NC is an organization of Latinx people defending our rights & building power “with
papers and without papers.” Our member leadership teams are in Alamance, Durham, Forsyth,
Guilford, Orange and Randolph counties.

Signatories in Support

Georgia Detention Watch (GDW) is a coalition of organizations and individuals that advocate,
alongside immigrants, to end the inhumane and unjust detention and law enforcement policies
and practices directed against immigrant communities in our state.

Project South is a Southern-based leadership development organization that creates spaces for
movement building. We have been working with communities pushed forward by the struggle for
over 30 years – to strengthen leadership and to provide popular political and economic education
for personal and social transformation.
Mijente is a digital and grassroots hub for Latinx and Chicanx organizing and movement building.

El Refugio is a ministry of hospitality and visitation that walks alongside families and
immigrants detained at Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, GA. El Refugio promotes
education and social witness for advocacy by introducing US citizens to the injustices of our
system of detention and deportation.

American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) is a Quaker organization that promotes lasting
peace with justice, as a practical expression of faith in action. AFSC works to address the
economic and political drivers of migration while supporting migrant communities.

South Georgia Immigrant Support Network (​ SGISN) is a humanitarian non-profit based in

Tifton, Georgia, that encourages hope and resilience through relationships with immigrants in
detention and their families, especially those detained at Irwin County Detention Center.

Detention Watch Network (​ DWN) is a national coalition of organizations and individuals

building power through collective advocacy, grassroots organizing, and strategic
communications to abolish immigration detention in the United States. Founded in 1997 by
immigrant rights groups, DWN brings together advocates to unify strategy and build
partnerships on a local and national level.

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