Apr
One thing you can do immediately to protect the most vulnerable immigrants and to protect us all.
We face a dire threat from the Covid-19 pandemic gathering speed rapidly.
There is no over-estimating the severity and extent of the danger.
All of us are at risk.
The most vulnerable sectors of our population are at still higher risk.
In ordinary times, we are sometimes glib about us “all being in the same boat”. In these extra-ordinary times, all of our fates are truly, inextricably, linked.
An imminent example:
We will all suffer if migrants incarcerated in detention camps become victims of a widespread coronavirus outbreak. This will have devastating consequences within and far beyond the camps walls. They need protection now.
Background
The rationale for releasing migrants currently in detention camps to safer locations is outlined in an open letter to ICE Acting Director Matthew T. Albence. It was written by physician members of the New York Lawyers for the Public Interest Medical Providers Network and Doctors for Camp Closure. It has now been signed by over three thousand health professionals and counting.
Action
Contact your congressional representatives quickly to have them urge Acting Director Albence to release detained migrants to safe locations in the community.
Feel free to cite and adapt the language of this letter (link below) which concludes:
“… we strongly recommend that ICE implement community-based alternatives to detention to alleviate the mass overcrowding in detention facilities. Individuals and families, particularly the most vulnerable—the elderly, pregnant women, people with serious mental illness, and those at higher risk of complications— should be released while their legal cases are being processed to avoid preventable deaths and mitigate the harm from a COVID-19 outbreak.”
Follow this link
