A federal judge on Tuesday mandated the immediate release of almost a dozen immigrants who “face a very real risk of serious, lasting illness or death” if they remain in facilities where they could become infected with the novel coronavirus. U.S. District Judge John E. Jones III ordered that 10 detainees at three facilities in Pennsylvania be released, saying, “Should we fail to afford relief to Petitioners we will be a party to an unconscionable and possibly barbaric result,” according to the written order. “Our Constitution and laws apply equally to the most vulnerable among us, particularly when matters of public health are at issue. This is true even for those who have lost a measure of their freedom.” 

At least 38,000 immigrants are currently being detained in ICE facilities, which puts them at greater risk of contracting the coronavirus. Jones—in agreement with advocates urging for the release of immigrants with underlying health conditions—emphasized that the detainees are “unable to keep socially distant while detained by ICE and cannot keep the detention facilities sufficiently clean to combat the spread of the virus.”