La Palma cases increase after ICE assured judge of no suspected cases
Three days after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials claimed in court filings that there were no longer any active or suspected COVID-19 cases in an Arizona immigration detention facility, four more detainees there tested positive for the virus.
The additional cases were posted on ICE’s Coronavirus guidance website, which lists daily updates about new confirmed COVID-19 infections at immigrant detention facilities across the U.S.
The surge in cases at the La Palma Correctional Center in Eloy contradicts the agency’s claims made in a court filing submitted on April 13, and calls into question the efficacy of ICE’s tactics for limiting the spread of COVID-19 in facilities holding more than 32,000 immigrants across the U.S.
According to ICE, twelve immigrants in Arizona detention facilities have tested positive for COVID-19 as of April 16 – six at La Palma and six at the Florence Detention Center. Nationally, cases jumped from 49 to 100 over the past week.