NYIFUP Statement On Reports that Quarantine for Mumps at ICE Bergen County Jail Has Been Extended

July 8, 2019

 

***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE***

NYIFUP STATEMENT ON REPORTS THAT QUARANTINE FOR MUMPS AT ICE BERGEN COUNTY JAIL HAS BEEN EXTENDED

(NEW YORK, NY) – The Legal Aid Society, Brooklyn Defender Services, and The Bronx Defenders – New York City’s defender organizations providing free legal representation through the New York Immigrant Family Unity Project (NYIFUP) to detained immigrants with pending cases at the Varick Street Immigration Court  – released the following joint statement today in response to reports that the quarantine for mumps at Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Bergen County Jail in New Jersey has been extended indefinitely:

“Amid deteriorating conditions at Bergen County Jail, we are appalled to learn about the indefinite extension of the mumps quarantine. We continue to be extremely concerned for the health and safety of our clients. ICE’s sustained medical negligence has perpetuated a serious public health crisis. We demand answers from ICE about what measures are being taken to provide adequate treatment and control the outbreak. In the midst of this crisis, ICE must provide a way for our clients to meaningfully access their attorneys and the courts and to not suffer prejudice during their removal.”

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The New York Family Immigrant Unity Project (NYIFUP) is the nation’s first public defender system for immigrants facing deportation—defined as those in removal proceedings before an immigration judge. Funded by the New York City Council since July 2014, the program provides a free attorney to almost all detained indigent immigrants facing deportation at Varick Street Immigration