Nearly 3 out of every 4 detainees in U.S. ICE detention centers will be infected with COVID-19 within 90 days.

Women stand near their bunks at one of the housing units at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center in Adelanto, California in 2019. Credit: AP Photo/Chris Carlson

Nearly 3 out of every 4 detainees in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention centers will be infected with COVID-19 within 90 days.

That’s the “optimistic” scenario from researchers working with the nonprofit Government Accountability Project who analyzed ([link removed]) ICE detention population statistics to make projections about the potential spread of the virus inside detention facilities over 30-, 60- and 90-day time periods.

The “pessimistic” scenario: Nearly 100% will be infected.

The group recommended that ICE take “decisive action” by drastically lowering its detained population. According to the study, the agency could release either older detainees with chronic health conditions or younger detainees plus people with chronic health conditions of any age. “The former would be a more limited release, while the latter would considerably enlarge the number of individuals released,” the study says ([link removed]) .

“If hesitation prevails instead, and more limited measures on the part of ICE prove ineffective, then the successful social distancing strategies implemented in a community may be undone by the large number of detainee infectious disease cases that its hospitals must care for.”

Since March, ICE has canceled social visits to detention centers, says it’s scaled back on arrests and released nearly 700 detainees after reviewing their medical and criminal histories. But these measures have done little to stop the avalanche of COVID-19 cases inside detention facilities. As of Thursday, 490 detainees have tested positive ([link removed]) for the virus of 1,030 tested. One month ago, two detainees ([link removed]) had tested positive.

Medical experts say the cramped conditions create the kind of environment where the coronavirus can spread easily. Still, ICE has so far resisted calls from medical professionals and its own former acting director to urgently release nonviolent, low-risk detainees.

It’s not just detainees who are getting sick: 36 employees at detention centers also have tested positive. Two guards at one center in Louisiana have died, the Associated Press reported ([link removed]) Wednesday.

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On the left, detainee Pedro Iglesias Tamayo holds the toiletries he is provided every month at the Pine Prairie ICE Processing Center in Louisiana. On the right is one of the pods where detainees sleep and spend most of their days at Pine Prairie. CREDIT: GettingOut screenshot; photo courtesy of Rodriguez family


** WHAT HAPPENED TO DETAINEES WHO SPOKE UP
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Detainees saw this all unfolding and were terrified long before the first case was confirmed inside a facility. Some of the detainees who spoke up about it appear to be getting punished.

A few weeks ago, I told you that two sources who spoke to me about the lack of protections against the coronavirus at the Pine Prairie ICE Processing Center in Louisiana got suspended from a video chat app after my story published ([link removed]) April 7.

They still haven’t gotten back their access. Every morning, I log on to the app to check the status of their accounts. “SUSPENDED,” in all caps, is still posted next to their names.

Our attorney sent a letter to the Pine Prairie warden and ICE’s Office of Professional Responsibility, arguing that cutting off the men’s access to GettingOut constituted a clear violation of the First Amendment rights of both Reveal and the men who described unsafe conditions.

“Rather than addressing these grave concerns, your facility appears to have retaliated against those who spoke to Reveal,” the letter reads.

ICE said the agency would respond to our inquiry in 10 days. That was April 20. We’re still waiting to hear back.

I’m not the only one who has seen this happen.

After reporter Debbie Nathan wrote about a protest ([link removed]) organized by women inside the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center, her sources had their access to phone calls and television temporarily cut off and video visitation hours reduced. Nathan’s access to the GettingOut app has also been disrupted.

From Nathan’s story ([link removed]) :

Now, however, ICE facilities are trying to prevent GettingOut communication between the press and detained people. On April 22, after I noticed that I was unable to use the app to reach sources in several ICE facilities, I called GettingOut’s customer service line. A representative told me that I had been blocked the day before, because of a request submitted by “staff” at the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center. She said the request resulted in my being blocked from all facilities that use GettingOut. Three days later I checked again, spoke with another customer service person, and was again told that “staff” had asked for the block. But “it’s really odd,” the representative said. “There’s no notes” indicating which facility requested the block. Nevertheless, he added, “It seems that your account is suspended until 2025.”

Meanwhile, the situation has escalated at Pine Prairie, where many detainees are confined under quarantine inside their pods. Food is brought to them and officers check on them sporadically throughout the day. The men cope with the monotony by watching TV and talking to loved ones on the video visitation app.

When I first spoke with the men there, not a single case had been detected inside. As of Thursday, 20 Pine Prairie detainees have tested positive.

Read my story on what they saw here ([link removed]) .

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** FEDERAL JUDGE KEEPS IMMIGRATION COURTS OPEN
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Last month, several immigrant advocacy groups sued the Trump administration ([link removed]) for keeping immigration courts open amid the COVID-19 pandemic. While non-detained dockets ([link removed]) have been postponed, court dates for detained immigrants and their attorneys are still moving forward. The groups asked a federal judge to intervene.

This week, U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols sided with the U.S. government ([link removed]) . “The government has already changed its policies to attempt to minimize any harm to Plaintiffs and others in the immigration system and is making daily and case-by-case determinations about health and safety issues,” Nichols wrote.

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** NEWS BREAK: OUR HEARTS WILL GO ON
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This week’s news break is brought to you by my colleague Patrick Michels:

My very favorite stories to read for fun are about con artists, scammers and pretenders – especially ones that crack open a door into the fantasy world of the con, so that you even begin to believe it, even though you know the game. The lower the stakes, the more enjoyable the story.

I think that's why this piece about Celine Dion in Las Vegas was one of my favorites last year, and one I still think about so often. As a celebrity profile, the story is a portrait of the fantastical life Dion has created for herself, one of unabashed opulence and eccentricity, on the strength of her powerful voice. Better, though, is that it's the story of the people who impersonate her professionally, for whom her heartfelt, gaudy celebrity is both a meal ticket and the mold from which they fashion fantasy worlds of their own.

The uplifting conclusion of the story is that, in all the ways that matter most, the distance between the star and her tributaries is less than you might think – they are all up to the same thing. Read it, also, for the wild and poignant bit about the bronze cast of Dion’s late husband's hand. I probably still think about that at least once a week.

From The Walrus story ([link removed]) :

If you think you have imposter syndrome in your career, just imagine making a career out of being an imposter. Gigs can be sparse, and a solid performer might make $800 for a good night’s work. And, though tribute artists gush about the star they’ve applied their talent to mimicking, they have to live with the possibility that their idol would prefer they just not – not reflect their brightness, not ape their talent, not play them for yuks and cash. They might not see themselves in the imitation at all.

“If Céline does know about me, would she embrace me? Or is she not happy about the idea? I don’t know if I even really want to know,” Brigitte Valdez says. She sent Céline a letter once, years ago, but she never heard back. “Maybe it’s better to keep a healthy distance,” she says, but she sounds like she’s talking herself into it. Valdez admits a bit shyly that she’s written songs with Céline in mind to perform them. She hasn’t submitted anything yet, but she’s getting closer. Maybe she’ll do it soon.

I wanted to find Céline through five of her impersonators – for the luck, for the pattern. Connect the dots and it’s there: five points to make a star. But one Céline flaked on me (she’s gigging on cruise ships, doing Céline on the high seas), and I wound up with only four. I thought it would be all wrong. But, of course, it’s obvious: Céline is the fifth Céline. Two plus two plus the gondolier makes five, and Céline Dion is here for it.

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