COVID-19 Summary: This is a representative habeas action filed by immigrant detainees in the Adelanto ICE Processing Center, seeking writs of habeas corpus in light of COVID-19. The plaintiffs alleged that everyone at the detention center was particularly vulnerable to contracting the virus because the tight quarters in the detention center made it impossible to implement social distancing. The district court entered a preliminary injunction on April 23, which was stayed by the Ninth Circuit and later remanded to the district court on September 23.

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On April 13, 2020, a group of immigrant detainees filed this lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the warden of the Adelanto ICE Processing Center in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. Represented by private counsel, the petitioners sought writs of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2241. In combination with their habeas petition, they also filed a complaint seeking injunctive and declaratory relief. Specifically, they alleged that their continued detention in Adelanto was a violation of their substantive due process rights under the Fifth Amendment, which guaranteed them protections against exposure to infectious disease.

Immediately, the plaintiffs filed a motion to certify the class as well as for temporary restraining orders as to why a preliminary injunction should not be issued regarding each of the three named plaintiffs.

The plaintiffs filed a notice of related cases, requesting this action to be related to the following cases: 5:20-cv-00605, 5:20-cv-00590, 5:20-cv-00617, 5:20-cv-00626, 5:20-cv-00627, 5:20-cv-00646, 5:20-cv-00650, 5:20-cv-00653, 5:20-cv-00668.

On April 14, the plaintiffs filed a motion for a preliminary injunction, requesting an order that would implement a system for class-wide relief or mandate that ICE implement social distancing measures necessary to protect the individuals in custody.

The case was assigned to District Judge Terry J. Hatter, Jr. and Magistrate Judge Pedro V. Castillo.

On April 16, Judge Hatter, Jr. entered a temporary restraining order for each of the named plaintiffs, authorizing their release from custody and ordered that the defendants must show cause as to why the court should not issue a preliminary injunction by April 24.

On April 23, Judge Hatter, Jr. provisionally certified the class to include all those who were currently detained at Adelanto, or had been detained thereafter March 23, 2020, and appointed the ACLU of Southern California as the class counsel.

Judge Hatter, Jr. also issued a preliminary injunction on April 23, requiring the defendants to:
-Not accept any new detainees at Adelanto
-Reduce the detainee population to a level that allows detainees to maintain social distancing of 6 feet from each other at all times by May 4
-Require staff and detainees to maintain 6 feet of distance whenever possible
-Clean and disinfect common areas and shared items on a regular basis (multiple times throughout each 24 hour period)
-Provide sufficient cleaning equipment and supplies for detainees to clean their own areas once a day
-Limit sleeping rooms/cells that have toilets without integrated lids to single occupancy
-Require all staff to wear masks and gloves at all times
-Require all detainees to wear masks, and provide gloves to those who wish to wear them
-Provide soap or hand sanitizer and paper towels to detainees
-Propose a plan for population reduction and cleaning procedures that comply with the injunction

Judge Hatter, Jr. stated that if the defendants failed to comply with any of the injunction's requirements, the court would consider the immediate release of class members. Regarding the related cases, the order stated that any class member who had been released from this order or a previously filed case would remain released, but that no additional injunctions would be entered for class members that had filed separate cases.

The defendants appealed to the Ninth Circuit on April 24, challenging the class certification order, preliminary injunction and related findings in the case (docket no. 20-55436). The Ninth Circuit issued an administrative stay, which temporarily stayed the lower court's preliminary injunction.

On May 5, the Ninth Circuit stayed the lower court's preliminary injunction to the extent that it went beyond the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's guidelines for correctional and detention facilities for managing COVID-19.

On June 5, the plaintiffs filed a motion for class-wide bail, which Judge Hatter granted on June 17, granting class-wide bail and stating that the court would make individualized bail determinations for each class member. 2020 WL 3481564.

On June 19, Judge Hatter issued an order, implementing a process for individualized bail determinations for each class member, which required the defendants to create a spreadsheet including information about each detainee, weekly updates, and notice to class members. 2020 WL 3487632. The defendants appealed to the Ninth Circuit (docket No. 20-55662), which granted an administrative stay of the June 17 bail order and June 19 bail process on July 1. However, on July 8, the Ninth Circuit denied the defendant's motion, stating that the district court's individualized determinations were consistent with processes of other district courts. Back in the district court, Judge Hatter, Jr. continued the individualized bail process and granted bail for various class members.

On August 10, the plaintiffs filed a motion to enforce the preliminary injunction's CDC Guidance provision and a separate motion for non-provisional class certification. In their motion for class certification, they relied on the provisional certification order, arguing that circumstances were still the same. That same day, the defendants filed a motion to dismiss and on August 24, the defendants filed a motion in opposition to the plaintiffs' motion to enforce. On August 31, the defendants filed a motion in opposition to the non-provisional class certification motion, arguing that the plaintiffs had failed to establish commonality, typicality and adequacy.

On September 16, upon learning of a COVID-19 outbreak at the detention center, the plaintiffs filed an ex parte application for temporary restraining order in the district court, seeking the court to compel testing of all detainees and for isolation of all detainees with positive test results. The court denied the application and, separately, stated that any previous bail orders releasing detainees who were still in the detention center were stayed - so as not to release a COVID-positive detainee into the community. The plaintiffs filed a motion for reconsideration on September 18.

On September 22, Judge Hatter, Jr. entered 2 orders. The first, denied reconsideration of the September 17 order, stating that since "the Ninth Circuit stayed the preliminary injunction, the Court cannot, now, order the Government to isolate detainees in single occupant cells because such order would contravene the stay," despite the fact that the court "does not disagree that the Government's procedures were inadequate." The second order granted class certification. Judge Hatter, Jr. stated that the reasons each class member was being detained was immaterial to the certification decision -- ultimately, the question before the court for each class member was whether their conditions of confinement were in violation of their Fifth Amendment substantive due process rights; the statutory authority for detention, bail status or other variances between class members did not destroy their ability to be certified as a class.

On September 23, the Ninth Circuit issued a Memorandum Opinion regarding the provisional class certification and preliminary injunction issues that the defendants had appealed in April. The circuit court held that the district court did not abuse its discretion by issuing a preliminary injunction and that the court had subject matter jurisdiction. However, since several months had passed and situations had evolved in the detention center, the Ninth Circuit vacated many of the preliminary injunction's provisions - including the CDC provision - and remanded the matter with instructions to issue an updated preliminary injunction. 2020 WL 5683233.

On September 25, Judge Hatter, Jr. issued an order denying the plaintiffs' motion to enforce the preliminary injunction and the defendants' motion to dismiss. Judge Hatter, Jr. stated that given the Ninth Circuit's September 23 opinion, the plaintiffs' motion to enforce was now moot. Furthermore, the defendant's arguments in their motion to dismiss -- namely that the district court did not have subject matter jurisdiction and that the class had not been fully certified -- had now been foreclosed.

Judge Hatter issued a modified preliminary injunction and additional findings of fact on September 29. 2020 WL 5797918. He ordered the government to provide a detailed population reduction plan to ensure detainees could maintain six feet of social distance at all times, and further ordered the government not to accept any new or transfer detainees in Adelanto. Judge Hatter also ordered the government to cease using HDQ Neutral, a toxic disinfectant, in housing units. Finally, the government was ordered to provide census data of all Adelanto detainees and update that report weekly. The defendants appealed this order to the Ninth Circuit. On October 13, the Ninth Circuit in a per curiam opinion affirmed in part and reversed in part the district court's order. 2020 WL 6040125. The Ninth Circuit held that the district court had authority to issue the injunctive relief, but found that, due to the rapidly evolving circumstances, the reductions in detainee population must be reconsidered. On remand, the Ninth Circuit advised the district court to avoid micromanaging the administration of conditions at Adelanto and stated that "any new provisions of future injunctive relief should stem from medical evidence properly before the court."

In addition to the census report, the district court also ordered the government to provide a daily status report that listed the number of COVID-positive and COVID-negative detainees in each housing unit. On October 15, Judge Hatter issued another order concerning the population reduction plan in which he expressed frustration with the defendants disregard for procedural rules. 2020 WL 6107069. Judge Hatter ordered the government to reduce the population of Adelanto by at least 50 detainees each day by either releasing or deporting detainees until the population is at most 475 people. Judge Hatter appointed Chief Magistrate Judge Patrick Walsh to act as a Special Master to monitor and enforce the government's compliance with with the injunctive relief.

Throughout October, Judge Hatter routinely issued bail orders directing the defendants to release specific class members. As of November 3, the case remains ongoing.

Caitlin Kierum - 09/27/2020
Justin Hill - 11/03/2020


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