Hunger strikes and protests are continuing at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers across the country as detainees speak out against close quarters and a lack of protections against the spread of COVID-19. At least one immigrant at the Port Isabel Detention Facility in South Texas is entering his second week of a hunger strike, saying he would “rather die of hunger than die of the virus,” writes Sandra Sanchez at Border Report. Meanwhile in California, Stephan Dinan reports for The Washington Times that ICE is accusing immigration lawyers of inspiring hunger strikes among dozens of detainees at a detention center in Bakersfield, but detainees insist they are striking because ICE isn’t keeping them safe. “We didn’t have no type [of] disinfectant, we had no bleach, we had no paper towel dispensaries, we had no soap dispensaries,” said Donovan Grant, a detainee released last month who was helping to lead the hunger strike. “We had 100 [detainees] per dorm. So, it wasn’t social distancing at all.”

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DEAL ON DACA? – As Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients await an impending Supreme Court decision on their legal protections, experts inside both parties expect President Trump to “slowly wind down the program” rather than ending it immediately in an effort to strike a deal with Democratic lawmakers over the summer. Democrats would rather wait to see if they take back the White House in the fall, and Trump could use their failure to negotiate as leverage to appeal to Hispanic voters, Anita Kumar writes for Politico. I spoke to Anita about the repercussions of Trump’s likely decision to wind down the program: “What happens has significant risks and opportunities for both parties. Who can blame the other side for deporting DACA recipients is what it comes down to.”

IMMINENT – Despite being an essential worker cleaning a hotel that’s housing homeless residents who are vulnerable to COVID-19, Victoria Galindo Lopez could be deported to Mexico as early as Thursday, reports Cindy Carcamo for the Los Angeles Times. Though she has lived in the U.S. for decades, this year ICE denied Lopez’s request to remain in the country after previously refraining from deporting her for “humanitarian reasons,” allowing her to live and work in the U.S. legally. “That all changed this year, and Galindo, a mother of four, is scheduled to be deported on June 11.” Galindo’s eldest daughter, a U.S. citizen, expressed confusion at ICE’s decision: “I don’t understand why they are taking her now when she is saying, ‘Hey, I’m still here and working hard. I’m not running away. I have no criminal record. I’ve shown up to every appointment on time. I have a Social Security number and paid taxes.’”

BACKLASH – A plan to open a new immigration detention center in Ionia Township, Michigan, to house up to 600 male detainees has been met with backlash from both immigration advocates and local residents, reports Niraj Warikoo for the Detroit Free Press. The prison would be developed by ICE in partnership with a private company and would hold detainees charged with civil violations of immigration law awaiting their hearings. “Why would we want to add another negative view of our community with this for-profit prison?” said local resident Timothy Thompson.

INVESTORS – America’s economic recovery could be further challenged by disruptions to the EB-5 visa program, which grants green cards to immigrant investors, Genevieve Douglas writes for Bloomberg Law. While the program was exempt from the Trump administration’s April proclamation suspending green card applications from outside the U.S., “consulate closures abroad and stalled U.S. business projects, such as those in the construction industry, have immigrant investors scared that their chances to become lawful permanent residents are dwindling.” The EB-5 program provides green cards to immigrants who invest the “required minimum amount in a U.S. commercial entity that creates at least 10 jobs for U.S. workers.” At its peak throughout 2014 and 2015, the program brought in nearly $11 billion and created more than 335,000 U.S. jobs.

DISINFECTANT – While many ICE detainees across the country are living in unsafe, overcrowded and unhygienic quarters amid COVID-19, detainees at the Adelanto detention center in California have been exposed to dangerous levels of disinfectant, reports Canela López for Insider. “Two advocacy organizations have filed a complaint alleging that Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center is using a COVID-19 disinfectant on the facility over 50 times a day. … The report, drafted by Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice and Freedom for Immigrants, states employees at the Adelanto Detention Center in California are spraying HDQ Neutral — which manufacturer Spartan Chemical warns can be harmful as it can cause skin burns and serious eye damage when inhaled — in poorly ventilated areas filled with detainees.” The disinfectant is being sprayed every 15-20 minutes, and detainees report at least one person fainting.

Thanks for reading,

Ali