Immigration detainees in South Florida are being required to attend court hearings with other migrants even if they have COVID-19, two sources with the Department of Justice confirmed Wednesday.
The news that detainees who have the coronavirus are being taken out of medical isolation to attend court hearings was revealed Wednesday morning during a Miami immigration court hearing at the Krome detention center in West Miami-Dade. Across South Florida, because of the pandemic, some detainees are appearing in person before a judge and others via video.
During the hearing, a Venezuelan detainee — who appeared in Krome court on video from the Glades County Detention Center in Moore Haven — told Judge Maria M. Lopez-Enriquez that he currently had COVID-19 and that he was taken out of an isolation cell to attend his immigration hearing. The Glades detention center is operated by the Glades County Sheriff’s Office under contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Read more at our news partner the Miami Herald.
