When will California vaccinate immigrants in detention?

The roll-out of the COVID-19 vaccine has raised numerous questions with respect to equity and access, particularly for vulnerable populations and communities. Discussions regarding vulnerable populations have included incarcerated individuals, who are held in facilities that have been hit particularly hard by the virus. As states make preparations to roll out the vaccine, one question looms large for immigrant advocates, when will immigrants in detention have access to the COVID-19 vaccine? 

Many advocates had assumed that immigrants held in federal custody would be prioritized for vaccinations, with more than 15,000 thousand immigrants in detention, and more than 8,000 having been infected by COVID. Experts have joined a chorus of voices calling for immediate action to protect the lives of those in these facilities. According to Peter Lurie, a former associate of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), individuals in ICE custody are at higher risk than average citizens. "The situation for people detained by ICE is dire. Folks are being infected at a rate probably 13 times higher than the general population. They should be high priority people for vaccination."

The assumption has also been that those in federal custody would have direct access to the federal stockpile of vaccines. Yet these assumptions have proven to be premature, with ICE seeming to indicate that it would leave it up to states to decide when immigrants in detention will get the vaccine. 

To date, ICE has refused to provide details on their plans to offer the vaccine to the individuals currently held in detention, despite reportedly promising to guarantee everyone in custody access. In a recent interview, Executive Associate Director, Enforcement and Removal Operations. Henry Lucero, told reporters, that the agency is working with state and local public health departments on vaccinations, but declined to provide a “direct timeline” for vaccinating detainees. “We're working with state and local health departments to ensure that the ICE detainee population is not forgotten about and that ultimately they get vaccinated should they choose to do so.”

Reports indicate that ICE will instead prioritize vaccinating personnel and medical staff in detention facilities, despite evidence indicating that those vaccinated can still spread the virus to others that they come in contact with.

In response to federal inaction, advocates in California have launched a campaign directed at state officials asking for clarity with respect to the status of immigrants detained in the six facilities located in the state. 

The letter, led by Immigrant Defense Advocates and supported by Immigrant Legal Defense and dozens of partner organizations, notes the importance of providing access and a meaningful choice to immigrants in detention with respect to the vaccine, citing a recently adopted policy by the American Medical Association in support of improved health measures of prioritizing vaccine access to vulnerable individuals in immigrant detention. The policy notes, “Recognizing that detention center and correctional workers, incarcerated people, and detained immigrants are at high risk for COVID-19, the new policy also makes clear that these individuals should be prioritized in receiving access to safe, effective COVID-19 vaccines in the initial phases of distribution.”

In addition to recapping the dire situation in immigrant detention facilities in California, and emphasizing the role that the state is entitled to play in protecting the health and safety of those in detention, the letter included the following concrete demands: 

1. California must include immigrant detention facilities located in the state of California in any plan related to securing our communities. 

2. The Drafting Guidelines Workgroup, and the Community Advisory Vaccine Committee should meet with stakeholders on the issue of immigrant detention, including detained and impacted individuals, community organizations, and experts on immigration detention.

3. California must do everything in its power to protect the health and safety of individuals in these facilities, including prioritizing their access to the COVID-19 vaccine, while providing them an informed choice with respect to any decisions related to vaccination. 

The letter also highlights the importance of providing immigrants with detention information and resources from a source other than ICE, in order to establish trust. The letter also includes a statement from individuals inside detention, interviewed by the California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice inside the Golden State Detention Facility. “The vaccine should be available, especially because there are elderly people here and people who are vulnerable. But people want to get it from someone outside, not ICE. We need someone to come in and educate on what the vaccine is, someone that people trust.”

To date, advocates have not received a direct response from California’s Community Vaccine Advisory Committee, which has been formed to provide “input and feedback to the planning efforts and resolving barriers to equitable vaccine implementation and decision-making.”

California is home to what was at one point the largest outbreak of COVID-19 in any ICE facility, with more than a hundred individuals in the Otay Mesa Detention Facility being infected with the virus. Tragically, California is also home to the first death from COVID-19, with Carlos Escobar Mejia passing away in Otay Mesa in May of 2020. His fellow detainees penned an open letter shortly after his death and demanded action and assistance. 

“We are all trapped in here and it is only a matter of time before everyone in this facility gets sick and before we lose another human being’s life. Many correctional officers have quit because of the negligence in controlling the virus and unprofessionalism by Otay Mesa Detention Center. Does that not shine a light on the fact that this facility should not be opened and that this is a modern-day Auschwitz?

Lastly, we would like to add that due to the gross negligence and blatant disregard for human life shown by Core Civic and its medical staff, fellow detainee, and to many of us, friend, Mr. Carlos Escobar Mejia is now dead. This is a cry for help.”