DALLAS — Two dozen immigrant detainees have tested positive for COVID-19 at the Prairieland detention center southwest of Dallas, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Monday evening.
Previously, ICE had confirmed there were three cases at the immigrant detention center about 40 minutes’ drive from Dallas. The increase came as ICE said that the number of infected detainees nationwide has nearly doubled to 220 people from a few days ago.
The detention center holds about 700 people and is operated for ICE by the private firm LaSalle Corrections. LaSalle didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Health experts and legal advocacy groups have warned for weeks that the U.S. immigrant detention centers are petri dishes for infection because of the close quarters. About three dozen lawsuits have been filed around the nation to try to win the release of immigrants thought to be particularly vulnerable to the COVID-19 disease.
Monday evening, as attention on dangers at the immigration detention centers widened, a California federal judge ordered ICE to review detainees for “risk factors,” finding that plaintiffs are likely to succeed on a medical indifference claim in numerous suits aimed at getting immigrants released.
“These measures shall remain in place as long as COVID-19 poses a substantial threat of harm,” wrote the federal district judge, Jesus G. Bernal.
Bernal said the defendants had “likely exhibited callous indifference to the safety and wellbeing” of those detainees covered by the suit. The evidence suggests systemwide inaction that goes beyond a mere “difference of medical opinion or negligence,” Bernal wrote. The case cited conditions in detention centers in Texas, but didn’t name Prairieland specifically, and in Louisiana, Georgia, Colorado, California and Alabama.
That case was brought by multiple parties, including the Southern Poverty Law Center and legal specialists in disability rights. Detainees at risk include those over 55 years of age and those who suffer from chronic health conditions.
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