{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://www.warren.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/warren-castro-booker-colleagues-introduce-bicameral-legislation-to-require-covid-19-data-collection-in-immigration-detention-facilities", "Warren, Castro, Booker, Colleagues Introduce Bicameral Legislation to Require COVID-19 Data Collection in Immigration Detention Facilities", "2020-12-09", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "MA", "Elizabeth Warren", "W000817", "www.warren.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "December 09, 2020\n\t\t\t Warren, Castro, Booker, Colleagues Introduce Bicameral Legislation to Require COVID-19 Data Collection in Immigration Detention Facilities \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t \n\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n        \n\t\t\t\t The COVID-19 in Immigration Detention Data Transparency Act would provide public health experts, policymakers, immigration advocates, and the public with critical information about COVID-19 in immigration detention facilities.\r\nCurrent information about the number of COVID-19 cases affecting individuals in immigration detention is inadequate for the purpose of stopping the spread of the virus and protecting detainees, staff, and nearby communities.\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t Bill\r\nText | Bill\r\nOne-Pager Washington, DC - United States Senator Elizabeth Warren\r\n(D-Mass.), a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP)\r\nCommittee, Congressman Joaquin Castro (D-Texas.), Chair of the Congressional\r\nHispanic Caucus, and Senator Cory Booker (D-N.J.), a member of the Senate\r\nJudiciary Committee Subcommittee on Border Security and Immigration, introduced\r\nthe bicameral COVID-19 in Immigration Detention Data Transparency Act,\r\nwhich would require immigration-detention facilities to collect and\r\npublicly report data about COVID-19 cases and the preventative measures in\r\nplace in these facilities. This legislation is also cosponsored by Senators Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.),\r\nChris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.),\r\nDick Durbin (D-Ill.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Amy\r\nKlobuchar (D-Minn.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Bob Casey\r\n(D-Pa.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Representatives\r\nJamie Raskin (D-Md.), Juan Vargas (D-Calif.), Sylvia R. Garcia (D-Texas.),\r\nFilemon Vela (D-Texas.), James P. McGovern (D-Mass.), Bonnie Watson Coleman\r\n(D-N.J.), and Al Green (D-Texas.). COVID-19 presents serious risks to individuals in group settings, including\r\nin immigration detention. Tens of thousands of people are currently held in, or\r\nwork in, facilities run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs\r\nand Border Protection (CBP), and the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), as\r\nwell as in immigration-detention facilities that have contracted with these\r\nagencies. Many detained people cannot take precautionary measures such as\r\nsocial distancing and wearing personal protective equipment due to their close\r\nconfinement and the limited resources available to them. Currently, available\r\ninformation about the number of COVID-19 cases affecting individuals in\r\nimmigration detention is inadequate for the purpose of stopping the spread of\r\nthe virus and protecting detainees, staff, and nearby communities. Federal\r\nreporting standards are necessary to protect against the virus and mitigate outbreaks. \"We are facing a crisis unlike anything in our lifetimes -- and it is\r\nhitting vulnerable members of our communities the hardest, including those in\r\ndetention facilities. Many detained people are at the mercy of the facilities\r\nin which they're held. That is why we need to mandate these reporting\r\nstandards,\" said Senator Warren. \"Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, I've visited multiple\r\nimmigration detention centers and I'm appalled by the neglect of basic public\r\nhealth measures to protect people's lives,\" said Congressman\r\nJoaquin Castro (TX-20), Chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.\r\n\"I'm proud to partner with Senator Warren to ensure that the federal\r\ngovernment guarantees access to legal counsel, provides testing and commits to\r\nkeeping reported data transparently so ICE and Border Patrol can be held\r\naccountable. This legislation is about protecting people from the coronavirus\r\nand preventing unnecessary outbreaks from overwhelming our health system.\" \"We know that individuals in detention centers are disproportionately\r\nat risk of contracting COVID-19, but because of a lack of federal reporting\r\nstandards, we don't have the full picture needed to make critical public\r\nhealth decisions that protect the health and safety of detained individuals and\r\nnearby communities,\" said Senator Booker. \"Our bill\r\nis part of an urgent effort to address the COVID-19 crisis in detention centers\r\nand to ensure that experts have the data and information they need to make\r\npublic health recommendations to save as many lives as possible.\" The COVID-19 in Immigration Detention Data Transparency Act provides public\r\nhealth experts, policymakers, immigration advocates, and the public with\r\ncritical information about COVID-19 in immigration detention facilities. The\r\nbill creates reporting standards for agencies and facilities responsible for\r\nthe custody and care of immigrant detainees. The bill would do the following: \r\n Require ICE, CBP, ORR, and\r\n     contract facilities to collect and submit COVID-19 data to the Centers for\r\n     Disease Control and Prevention on a weekly basis and regularly publish\r\n     this data on their websites. The data will be stored in a manner that\r\n     protects an individual's privacy and may not be used against them in any\r\n     future immigration proceedings.\r\n  \r\n Mandate that ICE, CBP, and\r\n     ORR report to Congress on the protocols and practices in place at each\r\n     detention facility under their jurisdiction, outlining the health\r\n     standards, the standards of medical care provided to detainees, and the\r\n     sanitation practices at each facility.\r\n  \r\n Require ICE, CBP, ORR, and\r\n     the head of each contract facility to report to Congress on the efforts\r\n     made to ensure detained individuals have access to legal counsel.\r\n  \r\n Ensure that detained\r\n     individuals tested for COVID-19 have confidential access to all their test\r\n     results and medical records, in their preferred language.\r\n \"We know that immigrants held in detention centers are at a\r\nsignificantly higher risk of contracting COVID-19, but we have no data about\r\nhow many people have gotten sick, if they've been treated, or what precautions\r\nhave been put in place to prevent the spread of the disease. Seeking a better\r\nlife in America shouldn't come with a death sentence - especially not at the\r\nhands of the U.S. government,\" said Senator Blumenthal. \"In the midst of this pandemic, we are reminded every day that America\r\nwould be lost without immigrants. At the same time, thousands of immigrants are\r\nlanguishing in an inhumane detention system where the virus is spreading like\r\nwildfire. Data about COVID-19 cases in DHS and HHS facilities must be\r\nadequately tracked and reported to help address this crisis,\" said\r\nSenator Durbin. \"This legislation takes a step forward in\r\nensuring that local leaders and public health experts have the data readily\r\navailable to address the needs of these facilities.\" \"ICE and CBP have repeatedly shown their willingness to prioritize\r\nhardline immigration enforcement over the well-being of immigrants and immigrant\r\ncommunities. We know detention centers are hotspots for coronavirus and are\r\nputting lives at risk every day. Congress has an obligation to hold these\r\nagencies accountable for the health and safety of every person in detention. I\r\nam proud to cosponsor the Immigration Detention Data Transparency Act, which\r\nwill bring much needed transparency to ICE and CBP practices and protocols\r\nduring the pandemic,\" said Senator Markey. \"Every human being coming to America in the hopes of building a better\r\nlife for themselves and their families deserves to be treated with respect and\r\ncare-not to be forced into a shadowy COVID hot spot,\" said Senator\r\nMerkley. \"Alarming reports of outbreaks and inadequate care in\r\nour detention facilities must be addressed immediately, and we need full\r\ntransparency and access to valuable data to make that happen. I'm urging all of\r\nmy colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join our call for that information,\r\nso we can do the right thing and save lives.\" \"The COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated the harm done by Trump's\r\nsenseless and cruel immigration policies,\" said Senator Sanders. \"This\r\nbill will ensure public health experts have the data they need to stop the\r\ndeadly outbreaks we are seeing in immigration detention facilities.\" \"As we see COVID-19 cases rise throughout our nation, the spread of the\r\ncoronavirus in immigration detention centers threatens the lives of thousands\r\nof detainees, staff, and nearby communities. We have a moral responsibility to\r\nprotect all of these individuals and ensure healthy and safe conditions.\r\nRequiring access to accurate and transparent data on COVID-19 in detention\r\nfacilities is crucial to this effort,\" said Senator Van Hollen. The COVID-19 in Immigration Detention Data Transparency Act is endorsed by\r\nAmerican Immigration Lawyers Association, Amnesty International USA, American\r\nPublic Health Association, Church World Service, Freedom for Immigrants,\r\nImmigration Hub, Kino Border Initiative, Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee\r\nAdvocacy Coalition, National Immigration Law Center, National Immigration\r\nProject of the National Lawyers Guild, Partners in Health, and Southern Poverty\r\nLaw Center. \"The Immigration Detention Data Transparency Act is a vital step\r\ntowards ensuring the safety of people who are detained by DHS. Since the start\r\nof the pandemic, we have seen ICE refuse to take meaningful measures to protect\r\nthe thousands of individuals currently in its custody, including failure to\r\nprovide hygiene supplies, personal protective equipment, testing, and access to\r\ncritical medical care. This legislation would require ICE to report key\r\ninformation, so that the public knows what ICE is doing to prevent the\r\nunnecessary illness and possible death of individuals in detention, government\r\nemployees, and visitors.\"-Kate Voigt, Senior Associate Director of\r\nGovernment Relations, American Immigration Lawyers Association \"This bill is vital. Our immigrant detention system is immoral and\r\nunjustifiable. The unprecedented investment in punitive enforcement strategies\r\nis a failed experiment that has caused untold suffering in communities.\r\nInstead, we should be investing in community-based alternatives. Families and\r\nindividuals have traveled thousands of miles in the hopes that they could\r\nparticipate in America. It is our duty that we do not leave them susceptible to\r\nthe pandemic sweeping our world. Putting men, women, and children in detention\r\nshall remain wrong morally, but while the practice continues, these vulnerable\r\npeople should be afforded the right to care, not subjected to the risk of\r\nCOVID-19.\" -Reverend John L McCullough, President and CEO of\r\nChurch World Service \"Individuals in immigration detention face a heightened risk for\r\nCOVID-19 infection. We must take measures to address this risk, including\r\nreducing detention, but we can't execute an adequate response without\r\ncomprehensive data,\" said Eva Millona, President and CEO of the\r\nMassachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA).\r\n\"MIRA is proud to support the COVID-19 in Immigrant Detention Data\r\nTransparency Act and we are grateful to Senator Warren, Senator Booker, and\r\nRepresentative Castro for their leadership on behalf of immigrant and refugee\r\ncommunities.\" \"Medical neglect and abuse in DHS detention facilities have long been\r\nat crisis levels - with the onset of the pandemic, this past fiscal year became\r\none of the deadliest in DHS's history. The COVID-19 in Immigration\r\nDetention Data Transparency Act is a critical step forward in addressing\r\nthe human rights abuses inside the walls of these immigration jails.\" -\r\nCharanya Krishnaswami, Americas Advocacy Director, Amnesty International USA \"Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, ICE has acted directly against the\r\nguidance of public health experts. People in detention report deterioration in\r\ndetention conditions and continued lack of access to essential supplies,\r\nincluding personal protective equipment and soap. It is clear that our current\r\nlaws are not enough to ensure a transparent government,\" said\r\nSarah Gardiner, Policy Director at Freedom for Immigrants.\r\n\"Freedom for Immigrants has consistently documented numerous inaccuracies,\r\nomissions, and errors in ICE's public reporting on COVID-19. ICE's deception,\r\nincompetency, and false statements have resulted in a rate of infection in\r\nimmigration detention that is outrageously disproportionate to national\r\naverages. This bill is a step toward more transparency, as we continue to call\r\non the next administration to drastically reduce detention levels.\" \"Every day we receive people at our migrant aid center who have been\r\ndeported, some from Eloy, an Arizona detention center that reported the most\r\nCOVID-19 cases of any ICE facility in the US this fall. Migrants arriving in\r\nNogales share that they are denied medical care and that they plead with guards\r\nto change their gloves before serving food. We have looked into the eyes\r\nof a man who self-deported for fear he would die of COVID in detention.\r\nThe COVID-19 in Corrections Data Transparency Act would provide for more\r\naccountability in immigrant detention and greater protection of migrants from\r\nthe Coronavirus. In the end, as people of faith we cannot turn a blind eye to\r\nthis injustice that is happening behind closed doors.\"-Father Sean\r\nCarroll, SJ, Executive Director, Kino Border Initiative Since the beginning of the pandemic, Senator Warren has been pushing for\r\nhealth equity in the federal pandemic response and for transparent data\r\ncollection and reporting. In August, Senators Warren and Booker-along with\r\nRepresentative Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash.), and\r\nRepresentatives Sylvia Garcia (D-Texas), Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.), and Robin\r\nKelly (D-Ill.)-introduced the COVID-19\r\nin Corrections Data Transparency Act. That bill similarly improves\r\ntransparency around the pandemic's effects on incarcerated populations by\r\nrequiring the Federal Bureau of Prisons, the United States Marshals Service,\r\nand state governments to collect and publicly report detailed data about COVID-19\r\nin federal, state, and local correctional facilities. The introduction of this bill is part of Senator Warren's ongoing efforts to\r\nprotect the rights and wellbeing of migrants and asylum seekers: \r\n Last month, Senator Warren joined\r\n     Senator Merkley in sending a letter demanding that the Trump\r\n     administration halt any and all plans to deport dozens of women who have\r\n     come forward to report unnecessary and non-consensual medical procedures\r\n     while detained at Irwin County Detention Center (ICDC) in Ocilla, Georgia.\r\n     In September, the Senator joined\r\n     her colleagues in calling for a congressional hearings into a\r\n     whistleblower report of medical negligence at ICDC.\r\n  \r\n In April, Senator Warren joined\r\n     Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.) in a letter to the DHS Office of Inspector\r\n     General (OIG) requesting they open an investigation into the conditions at\r\n     ICE detention facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.\r\n  \r\n Senator Warren joined\r\n     a letter to the DHS OIG requesting an investigation into the\r\n     conditions that led to the death of the first individual in immigration\r\n     detention from COVID-19 at Otay Mesa, an ICE facility in California.\r\n  \r\n Earlier this year, Senator\r\n     Warren and Representative Nydia M. Velzquez (D-N.Y.) sent a letter\r\n     to CBP, calling on it to strengthen its new Medical Directive, which\r\n     mandates the agency's requirements for medical screening and delivery of\r\n     medical care to migrants in CBP custody.\r\n  \r\n Senator Warren is a cosponsor\r\n     of Senator Booker's Federal Immigrant Release for Safety and Security\r\n     Together (FIRST) Act, which would provide for the release of vulnerable,\r\n     low-risk detained persons from immigration detention facilities during the\r\n     pandemic..\r\n  \r\n Senators Warren and Markey led\r\n     the Massachusetts congressional delegation in calling for all deportations\r\n     to be halted during the COVID-19 pandemic.\r\n ###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://www.warren.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/warren-castro-booker-colleagues-introduce-bicameral-legislation-to-require-covid-19-data-collection-in-immigration-detention-facilities"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.9872911982238293, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}