Press Release: 2020-03-31
Physicians Call a National Day of Action to Demand ICE Release ALL Detained People
Physicians Call a National Day of Action to Demand ICE Release ALL Detained People
Immigration Detention and Enforcement Promotes Spread of COVID19
Contact:
Lara Jirmanus, MD, MPH, Primary Care Physician, (781-864-8879), @lzj961 lara.jirmanus@gmail.com, Boston, MA
Nathaniel Kratz, MD, Internal Medicine, (646-378-8782), nathaniel.kratz@gmail.com, New York City, NY
Boston and New York City - A group of physicians from across the US demand that ICE immediately halt all immigration enforcement and release all people in ICE detention to slow the spread of COVID19. The groups have already collected thousands of signatures on a national open letter and a Massachusetts letter demanding the same, and now call for a national call-in day to Congress and local ICE offices, on Tuesday, March 31. The physicians will join the #FreethemAll national week of action in collaboration with the Detention Watch Network.
“Detention facilities do not have the capacity to ensure the necessary physical distancing, hygiene and disinfection to prevent or control COVID-19,” commented Dr. Nathaniel Kratz, an internal medicine physician in New York City. “With a mortality rate 10 times greater than the seasonal flu and a significantly higher rate of infectiousness than Ebola, an outbreak of COVID-19 in immigration detention facilities would be devastating.”
Physician advocates have united in an unprecedented fashion in support of vulnerable immigrant communities and the public health.
“Immigration enforcement has created an atmosphere of pervasive fear, such that immigrants, regardless of documentation status, avoid seeking medical attention even when they are ill.” said Dr. Julia Koehler, a Pediatric Infectious Disease specialist and Chair of the Immigrant Health Committee of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Massachusetts Chapter. “This in addition to the crowded and unsanitary conditions of immigration detention centers accelerates the spread of COVID-19.”
On Tuesday, they will pressure Congress and ICE to authorize the immediate release of all those in immigration detention and to impose an immediate and total moratorium on enforcement actions for the duration of the COVID-19 emergency, including civil enforcement and criminal referrals, ICE check-ins, electronic monitoring and mandatory court appearances.
The event is sponsored by the Massachusetts Health and Law Immigrant Solidarity Network (www.hlisn.org) a network of healthcare and law professionals and community members which aims to make health institutions more welcoming for immigrant patients.