Immigrants’ Rights Organizations Reach Settlement in Case Brought to Protect Medically Vulnerable People Detained by ICE

Seattle, WA: The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington approved a settlement agreement today in Favela Avendano v. Bostock, a case brought in 2020 by Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP), the American Civil Liberties Union, and the ACLU of Washington on behalf of immigrants detained at the Tacoma Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, Washington who are at high risk for serious illness or death in the event of COVID-19 infection.

The settlement provides a number of protections for medically vulnerable class members detained at the facility, including provisions regarding the allocation of COVID-19 testing, therapeutic drugs, vaccines and boosters; screening persons brought to the facility; safeguards on transfers into the facility; and consideration of release for people not subject to mandatory detention during an outbreak at the facility consistent with Immigration and Customs Enforcement

(ICE) policy.

“This agreement provides robust protections regarding the Northwest Detention’s Center’s COVID-19 practices and policies,” said Aaron Korthuis, Staff Attorney at NWIRP. “It ensures that even while the federal government moves on from the pandemic, ICE must continue to take steps to protect those most vulnerable to COVID-19 to help prevent renewed and dangerous outbreaks of COVID-19 at NWDC.”

The settlement also requires regular reporting regarding COVID-19 related illness, hospitalization, or death of detainees, vaccination statistics, transfers, and a list of all class members at the facility.

“This settlement provides much needed and long-overdue relief for people detained at TNDC who have been at an increased risk of suffering, illness, and even death,” said Eunice Cho, senior staff attorney with the ACLU National Prison Project. “It also sends a clear mes- sage to ICE that it cannot continue its extreme recklessness and blatant disregard for the health and well-being of detained people.”

Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP) is a nationally-recognized legal services organization founded in 1984. NWIRP strives to achieve systemic change to policies and practices affecting immigrants through impact litigation, public policy work, and community education.

Reform Bill ‘DIGNIDAD Act’/ continued from page 6 changes to the H-2A and H-2B visa programs for temporary workers. For H-2A visas, some of the changes include the creation of an electronic platform for H2A visas, removal of seasonality requirements for H-2A visas, expanding H-2A visas to new industries, and allowing portable H-2A status for up to 10,000 H2A workers. For H-2B visas, some of the changes include expanding the definition of a “returning worker,” requiring safe workplaces, and increasing sanctions for fraud.

Finally, the bill addresses backlog reduction as well, providing $2.56 billion for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services backlog reduction, $825 million for the State Department, and $225 million for the Department of Labor.

What’s next?

After the bill’s introduction, it remains unclear whether it will make it to the House Floor. Regardless of whether it becomes law or not, and even though there’s a lot to like and dislike on both sides, it’s worth highlighting the fact that there are still good-faith efforts to reach a compromise on a subject that desperately needs one. l

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