With COVID-19, Faith Groups Call for End to Medical Prejudice Against Immigrants and Asylum Seekers

Link: http://bit.ly/IICCOVID19

Washington, DC – Now is a time to come together–U.S. born citizens, immigrants, and refugees–and recognize that we are all part of one race, the human race. We are stronger together, and we will get through this challenging time together.

The Interfaith Immigration Coalition (IIC) is concerned about all members of our human family, in the United States and abroad, and the medical prejudice that rations aid to some members of society while others are left to get ill and die. We believe that immigration detention centers should be emptied and individuals allowed to return home to their families, to avoid being trapped in epicenters of disease.

The IIC also condemns reports that the Trump administration plans to shut the border to asylum-seekers, citing risks from coronavirus. Turning people seeking refuge back to danger is not the answer. This decision will wrongfully endanger more lives. It is more important than ever to parole asylum seekers into the United States, end immigrant detention, and restore U.S. leadership in protecting the most vulnerable.

Said Faith Williams, Associate Director of Government Relations & Advocacy for the National Council of Jewish Women, and Interfaith Immigration Coalition Co-Chair: “Immigrants are valued members of our families, congregations, and communities. Many of the doctors, nurses, researchers, and health workers on the front-lines of protecting the public’s health and caring for the sick were born in other lands. All people deserve access to health care and to be treated with human dignity. We are all made in the image of God and we are all from one race, the human race.”

Focusing on U.S. immigration policy and following the leadership of immigrants, lawyers, and grassroots leaders, we have five demands that must be acted on immediately, to protect the health and safety of everyone in our communities.

1. Release detained immigrants so that they can return to their families in the United States and avoid contracting COVID-19. As we have seen in China and Iran, jails are a fertile ground for spreading this deadly disease. Medical professionals across the globe are recommending release of detained individuals to reduce the incarcerated population and probability of a massive outbreak in jails that health officials are unable to manage. All immigrants in federal custody for civil and/or criminal immigration violations should be considered for release to family, sponsors, or U.S. shelters. The detained population should be reduced dramatically in the interest of public health.
2. Ensure that any incarcerated individual has access to proper hygiene products and free calls to lawyers, friends, and family members until he or she is released. Jail conditions, unsanitary in the best of times, are downright dangerous in the worst of times. With in-person visitation to jails suspended, price-gouging phone and video call services are taking advantage of struggling families. We need to recognize the inherent humanity of detained people and ensure access to these basic needs.
3. Ensure free access to medical tests and health care for all members of our communities. We are all part of one race, the human race, and we are all in this together. Health agencies should serve all people, regardless of citizenship or insurance status. Everyone deserves access to medical tests and care.
4. Stop ICE and Border Patrol enforcement activities, including deportations and interior checkpoints, and close the immigration courts. Arrests, deportations, “check-in” meetings, court hearings, and enforcement actions involve travel and human-to-human contact. Health officials are calling for social distancing; this must be extended to the immigration context as well. Border Patrol interior immigration checkpoints must be suspended, as they force border region residents to make a choice between accessing medical care and testing or risking deportation.
5. Refuse to further fund deadly ICE and CBP policies. Programs such as Remain in Mexico/Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) and other policies to restrict asylum put human lives in danger. We already know that U.S. immigration agencies refused to provide vaccines to children in their care, and even said that items such as soap are optional. Our government has proven it cannot be trusted to care for the lives of migrants, including children. Congress must put an end to the policies that permit mass internment and detention, forced relocation to other countries, and restrictions on asylum access, by refusing to fund these policies in federal appropriations.