A Pennsylvania federal judge ordered the release of 11 immigration detainees with health risks over concerns that their condition would deteriorate if they contracted coronavirus in prison, The Hill reported on Tuesday.
The detainees, represented through the American Civil Liberties Union, were part of a lawsuit seeking release by arguing that the conditions in York County Prison, the facility used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement to hold them, made social distancing and other safety measures impossible.
Judge John Jones rejected an argument from government lawyers that the prisoners would not be in danger until the coronavirus struck the facility.
“It would be heartless and inhumane not to recognize [the] petitioner’s plight,” Jones wrote," The Philadelphia Inquirer reported. “Should we fail to [order their release] … we will be party to an unconscionable and possibly barbaric result.”
Detainees were on a hunger strike in the prison over the issue, the York Daily Record reported.
The ACLU has similar active lawsuits in other locations, according to The Hill. In one case in Washington, where the petitioners are seeking the release of thousands of detainees, a federal judge gave ICE a week to prove it can provide proper safety measures in family detention centers.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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