Immigrant Advocates Seek Immediate Release of People at Heightened Risk of COVID-19 from Notorious Georgia Detention Centers
Lawsuit: Failure to Address Public Health Crisis Risks Community Catastrophe
For Immediate Release
Friday, April 3, 2020
Contact:
James Woo, jwoo@advancingjustice-atlanta.org/ 404-585-8446
Marion Steinfels, marion.steinfels@splcenter.org / 202-557-0430
Atlanta, GA – The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) and Asian Americans
Advancing Justice-Atlanta, with pro bono assistance from the law firm of Kilpatrick
Townsend, filed a lawsuit today seeking the immediate release of people held at three
immigrant detention centers in south Georgia where they are at great risk of contracting
COVID-19 due to their health.
The lawsuit warns of a catastrophe at the privately operated detention centers, including
Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia, Folkston ICE Processing Center in
Folkston, Georgia and Irwin County Detention Center in Ocilla, Georgia, as well as the
surrounding communities, if U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) fails to
take meaningful action to safeguard the health of these detained people.
“Despite my very serious conditions, I have not received any special treatment, medical
evaluations, or information regarding the coronavirus,” said Joseph Lloyd Thompson, a
longtime Georgia resident, who suffers from multiple ailments, including a severe
aneurysm in his heart. “In fact, even with this increased risk, they didn’t give me any of
my medication from about March 4, 2020 to March 26, 2020. This was really upsetting
and stressful because my medication is crucial for controlling my symptoms so that my
heart doesn’t become overworked and stressed.”
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of civil detainees with a range of pre-existing conditions
that make them especially susceptible to COVID-19, which is highly contagious and
known to thrive in environments such as jails and detention centers where people are held in close quarters. The substandard conditions of these three privately operated immigrant detention centers, which have been cited by the federal government in the past for poor hygiene and sanitation and inadequate medical care, only exacerbate conditions favorable for transmission of the virus.
“It is both illegal and unconscionable for ICE to continue to hold these individuals
knowing their lives are in greater jeopardy every minute they remain imprisoned under
these appalling conditions,” said Rebecca Cassler, an attorney with the Southern Poverty
Law Center’s Immigrant Justice Project.
“Even in normal times, incarceration is detrimental to the health of the people locked
inside,” said Hillary Li, an attorney with Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta.
“That ICE insists on continuing to jail people during a global pandemic, particularly
those who already suffer serious illness, is heartless. If ICE waits until COVID-19 is
ripping through the facility to release them, it will be far too late.”
The lawsuit can be viewed here:
https://www.splcenter.org/sites/default/files/thompson_v._tsoukaris_-
_habeas_petition_and_complaint.pdf
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Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Atlanta (Advancing Justice-Atlanta) is the first legal advocacy nonprofit dedicated to the civil rights of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders in Georgia and the Southeast. Our mission is to protect and promote the civil and human rights of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders in Georgia and the Southeast through policy advocacy, legal services, organizing & civic engagement, and impact litigation.
The Southern Poverty Law Center, based in Alabama with offices in Florida, Georgia,
Louisiana, Mississippi and Washington, D.C., is a nonprofit civil rights organization
dedicated to fighting hate and bigotry, and to seeking justice for the most vulnerable
members of society. For more information, see www.splcenter.org and follow us on
social media: Southern Poverty Law Center on Facebook and @splcenter on Twitter.
The SPLC represents immigrants facing deportation in five different detention centers.
Learn more about SPLC's Southeast Immigrant Freedom Initiative.
