The California Committee for Immigrant Liberation Letter- COVID-19 and Yuba County Jail

May 15th 2020 

The Honorable Gavin Newsom Attorney General Xavier Becerra 1303 10th Street, Suite 1173 1300 I Street Sacramento, CA 95814 Sacramento, CA 95814 

Senator Kamala Harris Senator Dianne Feinstein 6501 I St Suite 7-600 One Post Street, Suite 2450 Sacramento, CA 95814 San Francisco, CA 94104 

Congressman John Garamendi 412 G Street Davis, CA 95616 

RE: COVID-19 and Yuba County Jail 

On Sunday, May 10th, Juan Jose Erazo Herrera, a man detained at the Yuba County Jail, began an indefinite hunger strike to bring attention to horrific conditions inside the facility. Twenty years old, he has been in the jail for over two years while his immigration case is pending. In his own words: 

“We are more exposed to the illness here than we were before. On Sunday May 10, 2020, I decided to go on hunger strike because of these conditions. I want to change this story. I’ve been locked up a long time…ICE is exposing me to this illness, and they just don’t care. ICE says we’re a danger to society, and that we’re protected from the disease. We aren’t a danger; we are in danger. We’re in danger here because we could get sick at any moment and they putting us in greater risk. For me, deciding to go on hunger strike isn’t just for me. I’m doing it for everyone here. My voice isn’t just for me. I want people to realize that this just isn’t me and that everyone here is in danger. Here, and in Mesa Verde. We’re not safe.” 

Juan Jose is not alone. Through its contract with ICE, Yuba County Jail currently holds dozens of immigrants who are at high risk of contracting COVID-19. In March, immigrants at the jail sounded the alarm about the dangerous conditions inside. Since then, the jail has not taken appropriate measures to prevent the spread of the virus, and in a communal dorm setting it is unable to incarcerate individuals in a manner which allows for social distancing or adequate sanitation. 

First hand reports from individuals inside of Yuba County Jail have made it clear that they do not have access to proper sanitation, such as soap and cleaning supplies, nor are the conditions in the facility sanitary or safe. Jail officials are not cleaning dorms regularly, and have not provided incarcerated people appropriate cleaning supplies to disinfect their designated areas and common 

spaces. Officials also failed to provide any Personal Protective Equipment whatsoever to detainees until community volunteers sewed masks for them, and even these are not properly cleaned and are only required to be worn when appearing before the judge via video teleconference. However, individuals are sent back to crowded, unsanitary dorms without the ability to maintain social distance or protect themselves. 

This lack of hygiene supplies and protective gear is made worse by the fact that the entire facility is structured in large pods that prevent social distancing, concentrate airflow and transmission of airborne germs, and create the perfect conditions for the spread of an airborne virus. Anyone who has ever visited or toured the facility can attest to the lack of proper ventilation or airflow, and how cramped the quarters are. The conditions in the facility are so bad that it has been under a court ordered consent decree for over 40 years. 

These conditions only increase the possibility that COVID-19 enters the jail. Given the long term problems with medical care at this facility, we do not believe that individuals who are ill will be afforded proper medical care or treatment. Clearly, the facility has not taken the appropriate steps to ensure that the health of individuals inside of Yuba County Jail is not at risk to COVID-19. For these reasons, Juan Jose began a hunger strike, and demands the following: 

● Access to protective gear, like masks, and a requirement that everyone inside of the facility wear them at all times. 

● Access to cleaning supplies so that individuals inside can keep their areas clean. 

● Access to testing for those inside the facility so that if there are already individuals who are infected, appropriate measures can be taken to stop the spread of COVID-19 at the facility. 

● Access to medical treatment for individuals who test positive for COVID-19. 

● Individuals demand that they are released to their families where they can be safe and quarantine with their loved ones. 

Yuba County Jail has already retaliated against Juan Jose. He has been put into medical segregation, in a freezing cold room, and threatened byICE officials. The use of force against those detained in order to suppress their First Amendment rights or disrupt their ability to organize and protect their lives is a clear violation of the standards of care of any detention facility operator. This heinous retaliation by prison officials is unconscionable and unacceptable, particularly with respect to the mortal threat presented by COVID-19. Yuba County Jail’s inaction has already led to serious harm, and will result in deaths. 

These actions by Yuba County Jail need to have consequences under federal and state law. We find it unacceptable that no concrete steps have been taken to address the plight of those detained. No visitation, oversight or inquiry appears to have been made. 

The threat of COVID-19 remains present in immigrant detention facilities in California and in other facilities with mixed populations. People detained in these facilities have organized calls to action and demanded authorities intervene in these facilities. We echo that demand. Advocates have detailed a multitude of ways in which the issue of COVID-19 can be addressed in immigrant detention by both Federal and State actors. This includes: 

● ICE exercising discretion to release individuals from these facilities 

● A moratorium on the transfer of individuals from state custody to ICE detention, and of state and local collaborations with ICE 

● State intervention to halt the expansion of private detention facility 

● Rigourous intervention, inspection and oversight by state and and federal officials 

● Legal action to hold private operators accountable for their negligence and misconduct 

We urge you to take action before this facility becomes a site of mass infection and claims the lives of those detained, while overwhelming the medical resources of the community in which the facility is located. 

Sincerely, 

The California Committee for Immigrant Liberation 

And the undersigned organizations: 

1. Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus
2. Alianza Sacramento
3. Asylum Sponsorship Project
4. Avalos 2020
5. Bay Area Asylum Support Coalition (BAASC)
6. Bay Area Families Solidarity Network
7. Becker & Lee LLP
8. California Coalition for Women Prisoners
9. California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice
10. CALMA: Collective Action for Laborers, Migrants, & Asylum Seekers
11. Campaign for Immigrant Detention Reform (CIDR)
12. Centro Legal de la Raza 
13. Cell Block 2 City Block
14. Community United Against Violence
15. Decarcerate Sacramento
16. Dolores Street Community Services
17. DSA San Francisco Immigrants Rights and International Solidarity Committee
18. East Bay Community Law Center
19. Estamos Unidos
20. Florin Japanese American Citizens League
21. Freedom for Immigrants
22. Hand in Hand: THe Domestic Employers Network
23. Immigrant Defense Advocates
24. Immigrant Legal Defense
25. Immigrant Legal Resource Center
26. Innovation Law Lab
27. Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity
28. Jewish Action NorCal
29. Kehilla Community Synagogue
30. Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church
31. Law Office of Helen Lawrence
32. Legal Services for Children
33. National Council of Jewish Women, Sacramento Section
34. National Lawyers Guild, Sacramento Chapter
35. Nikkei Resisters
36. NorCal Resist
37. Pangea Legal Services
38.Progressive Democrats of America
39. Sacramento Immigraton Coalition
40. Sanctuary Santa Cruz
41. San Francisco Bay Area Day of Remembrance Committee
42. San Joaquin College of Law – New American Legal Clinic
43. Services, Immigrant Rights & Education Network (SIREN)
44. Step Up!
45. The Law Office of Julianna Rivera
46. UC Davis Immigration Law Clinic