(Call for reduction in population at Detention Facility)….The ACLU is calling for the reduction during the COVID 19 pandemic.

The ACLU Foundation of San Diego and Imperial Counties, together with Cooley, LLP, have filed a motion for a preliminary injunction seeking a reduction of the population inside the Imperial Regional Detention Facility, as part of Rodriguez Alcantara v. Archambeault, a class action lawsuit in US District Court. The motion seeks the immediate release of all medically vulnerable people in US Immigration and Custom Enforcement custody at the Detention Facility, including all people ages 45 and older and those with underlying medical conditions that put them at higher risk of serious illness or death due to COVID 19. The motion also requests reduction of the population in each housing unit to allow people at the facility to practice proper social distancing, among other protective measures. A similar motion was heard in April and resulted in the ordered release of dozens of people from the Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego.