The Center for Immigration Studies hosted a virtual panel discussion Monday, April 13, at 1 p.m. on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention and whether the institutional conditions of detention centers necessitate the release of immigrant detainees due to the coronavirus and the safety, and legal implications of releases.
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Center experts were joined by Bristol County (Mass.) Sheriff Thomas Hodgson, who has been forced by a federal judge to release 45 detainees from the Bristol House of Correction; releases are to continue on a rolling basis.
Panelists discussed the ICE Performance-Based National Detention Standards (PBNDS), revised in December 2016, and explore if facilities are set-up to deal with communicable diseases and medical emergencies. They will try to answer the question: Which scenario – release or continued detention – is the more responsible policy, for the individual detainee and for the American public?