Two Detainees Ordered Released Over COVID-19 Concerns

SNOW HILL – Two immigrants were released from the Worcester County Detention Center (WCDC) this month amid fears officials did not take COVID-19 concerns serious enough.

In a media statement, the American Civil Liberties Union celebrated the ruling of U.S. District Court Judge Theodore D. Chuang, who found the WCDC and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) should have acted done to maintain the “health and safety of high-risk detainees.”

Angel Guzman Cedillo and William Kemcha were represented by the ACLU of Maryland, the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild the Capital Area Immigrants’ Rights Coalition and the National ACLU.

Chuang was critical of the WCDC and ICE’s handling of the situation in his order. He wrote, “The ICE Deputy Assistant Director for Healthcare Compliance attested to the fact that as of March 27, 2020, ‘[t]here are zero suspected cases of COVID-19 in… the Worcester County Jail.’ … had the Court not been misled by Respondents’ claim that there were no suspected COVID-19 cases at WCDC, and had it known that such a detainee existed but would not be tested, it likely would have reached a different conclusion on the First Motion.”

The judge found, “the Court now knows that WCDC was aware of at least one detainee, and possibly two more, with suspected COVID-19 but failed to test him without good reason. Thus, the Court finds that where the identified deficiencies in mitigation measures remain, but the record now reflects that WCDC has been unwilling to test for the Coronavirus even when detainees are suspected of having COVID-19, this combination of facts reveals likely deliberate indifference to inmate health and safety. Moreover, the Court separately concludes that its prior finding that the detention of a civil detainee with a high-risk health condition in a facility without any testing for COVID-19 likely imposes unconstitutional punishment because the conditions bear no reasonable relationship to the purpose of the detention, …”

In the order, the judge said, “Petitioners shall self-quarantine at their respective addresses for the first 14 days following their release. Thereafter, they may not travel outside of Maryland, Virginia, or Washington, D.C. without the advanced permission of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”). … “

Nick Taichi Steiner, Staff Attorney at the ACLU of Maryland, applauded the decision.

“We are ecstatic that all of our petitioners have been released and safe from the serious risk of contracting COVID-19 in a detention center,” said Steiner. “ICE has no concern for the health and safety of immigrants in their custody, and their misrepresentations to the Court illustrate the lengths to which they will go to abandon the human dignity of immigrants. Thankfully, Mr. Guzman Cedillo and Mr. Kemcha will be released, and can avoid the serious risk of contracting COVID-19 that exists for people in detention.”

Worcester County Public Information Officer Kim Moses offered this statement in defense of the WCDC.

“The judge’s decision was based almost entirely on the fact that one detainee (who is not being released), had a cough and slight fever in early April and was not tested for COVID-19,” she said. “However, that detainee was completely isolated in accordance with the jail’s procedures and his symptoms resolved. The decision to test or not test is made by the jail’s healthcare provider in consultation with the Worcester County Health Department. The jail takes the health and safety of inmates, detainees, and staff very seriously. It is unfortunate that this ruling does not reflect that care.”

Moses detailed the following procedures have taken place at the detention center since mid-March.

“All new arrival inmates and detainees receive a temperature check, are issued a mask, complete a medical screening, and are housed in a single cell for a 14-day period until cleared by the medical provider; Extra cleaning practices for the facility and housing units, which includes the installation of soap dispensers and hand air dryers in housing unit common areas; Any inmate or detainee with an elevated temperature is moved to the medical housing area for monitoring by medical staff until cleared by medical provider; No visitation for the entire population, except for attorneys who must be screened prior to entering the building; Four small housing units have been dedicated for the isolation of inmates and detainees upon arrival and for continued isolation per medical provider; All staff including medical personnel receive a temperature check and screening prior to entering the facility; and Testing availability for individuals based on the recommendation of our health care provider and the Worcester County Health Department.”

For several years, the WCDC in Snow Hill has been a designated holding site by ICE for immigrants who may or may not be in the country illegally. The individuals stay at the WCDC until their fate is decided.

About The Author: Steven Green

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The writer has been with The Dispatch in various capacities since 1995, including serving as editor and publisher since 2004. His previous titles were managing editor, staff writer, sports editor, sales account manager and copy editor. Growing up in Salisbury before moving to Berlin, Green graduated from Worcester Preparatory School in 1993 and graduated from Loyola University Baltimore in 1997 with degrees in Communications (journalism concentration) and Political Science.