An El Salvadorian inmate at the Otay Mesa Detention Center died this Wednesday due to health complications by the coronavirus. Carlos Ernesto Escobar Mejia was the first U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainee to die from the pandemic.

At 57 years old, he was hospitalized after the detention center could no longer alleviate his symptoms. His birthday would have been celebrated this month, according to the Union Tribune. More than 200 inmates at the San Diego prison were diagnosed with COVID-19 this Tuesday.


"Petri Dishes" for Disease Transmission

Earlier this week, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals overruled a judge's decision to allow the Adelanto ICE Processing Center to release 250 inmates. The Ninth Circuit nonetheless required the facility to adhere to the guidelines cited by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to control the spread of the coronavirus within the detention centers.

Instructions require uninfected detainees to be within six feet apart. Those exhibiting symptoms are expected to wear masks, remain in isolation, and receive medical attention.

The Deputy Director of immigration policy at the ACLU, Andrea Flores, said that public health experts and detention officials already voiced their concerns about the correction facilities becoming "Petri dishes" for further transmission of the COVID-19.

Flores called it a "death trap for thousands of people in civil detention." She added that unless the ICE released more detainees, more people will die of the disease.

At the Otay Mesa Detention Center, other detainees report to the Union-Tribune that the officials were insufficiently providing them medical attention or protecting them from the coronavirus.

In contrast to this, medical director of epidemiology and immunizations services, Dr. Eric McDonald, claimed that they supported the center through offering infection control advice, testing the detainees for the coronavirus, and providing personal protective equipment for them.


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Ninth Circuit Overrules Order to Release Detainees

This week, the U.S. Court of Appeals overruled a lower-court judge's decision for the Ninth Circuit to release a minimum of 250 detainees to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus.

Regardless, the Trump administration requested to reduce the ICE Processing Facility 's inmate population at a level that would allow the remaining detainees enough space to maintain social distancing. U.S. District Judge Terry Hatter ordered the facility to refuse admission of new detainees.

Instructions by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention demand that all detainees practice social distancing at all times, with six feet apart from the nearest person. Inmates with visible symptoms are required to wear masks, remain in isolation, and receive medical attention. They must be in quarantine for at least two weeks.

Before Hatter's ruling decision, the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Southern California first filed a lawsuit that demanded the release of at least 250 detainees because of the poor conditions of detention facilities.

According to a report, 674 detainees are already confirmed to have coronavirus in over 30 national detention centers.