The federal government approved the implementation of COVID-19 safety protocols in a Virginia-based immigration detention center as part of a settlement with current and past detainees. This detention center once had roughly 90% of detainees test positive for COVID-19.

This settlement follows the detainees of Farmville Detention Center suing federal authorities in July 2020, due to the rapid spread of COVID-19 throughout the facility after 74 detainees were transferred there without being tested for COVID-19. The facilities from which the detainees were transferred were known to be experiencing COVID-19 outbreaks. According to the detainees, up to 80 detainees were placed in poorly ventilated rooms, leaving little room between them to sleep. The day before the initial complaint was filed, more than 80% of the detainee population had tested positive for COVID-19.

Following this complaint, as well as the death of a 72-year-old Canadian detainee after testing positive for COVID-19, a U.S. District Judge ordered the government to cease transferring detainees in and out of the facility. A second amended complaint issued by detainees in December 2021 requested that this order be maintained by the court until the government could prove that transfers would not pose a risk to the health of the detainees in either facility. They also requested a new order for the government to provide a written plan to monitor and care for the detainees and their health. The following February, the judge allowed the government to dismiss the case but also allowed the detainees to proceed with their claims and request a judgment to establish the government’s obligations in this scenario.

The terms of this settlement include that the Farmville Detention Center be operated in a way that is consistent with U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s COVID-19 guidelines, so detainees are protected from contracting and spreading COVID-19. This includes the requirement that detainees being transferred from Farmville to the Caroline Detention Facility must be up to date on their COVID-19 vaccinations, as defined by the CDC’s Detention Guidance and ICE’s Pandemic Response Requirements. Additionally, detainees must not be exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19 and must test negative for COVID-19 by rapid antigen test. These guidelines must be kept in place for the next two years, or until the CDC declares that the COVID-19 pandemic has ended.

Federal authorities also placed a 30-detainee cap on dormitories and agreed to leave a specified number of dormitories unoccupied for use by detainees that need to quarantine or isolate as part of ongoing Covid safety protocols. They also placed a 180-detainee cap for the facility as a whole. This is roughly a quarter of the facility’s total capacity. Finally, the government agreed to mandate facility staff take rapid antigen tests and be fully vaccinated.

If you have questions or concerns about detention centers or any other immigration-related issue, contact us at ILBSG.

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