UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA D.A.M, et al., Petitioners, v. Case No. 20-cv-1321 (CRC) WILLIAM BARR, in his official capacity as Attorney General of the United States, et al., Respondents. MEMORANDUM OPINION Petitioners in this case are nearly 100 families from eleven countries who were denied asylum after entering the United States without valid entry documents and, consequently, are subject to orders of expedited removal from the country. Many of them are currently being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) at either the South Texas Family Residential Facility in Dilley, Texas (“Dilley”) or the Berks County Residential Center in Leesport, Pennsylvania (“Berks”). Others have been released for medical or other reasons. All petitioners seek a writ of habeas corpus preventing ICE from deporting them during the COVID- 19 pandemic. Presently before the Court is a motion for a temporary restraining order, filed on behalf of the detained petitioners only, seeking an emergency stay of their imminent removals. They contend that if the removals were to go forward as planned, they would be exposed to increased risk of contracting COVID-19 during the deportation process, and later in their home countries, which would violate their due process rights and ICE’s internal regulations. Finding that it likely has jurisdiction to review petitioners’ challenge to the conditions they would experience during the deportation process but concluding that they have not satisfied the requirements for preliminary injunctive relief, the Court will deny their TRO motion and lift the administrative stay of removal that the Court put in place while it considered the motion. I. Background A. Deportation in the Time of COVID-19 It goes without saying that we are in the midst of a global pandemic. As of this writing, there are over fourteen and a half million confirmed cases of COVID-19 worldwide with over 600,000 people dead. See WHO, Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Pandemic (updated July 21, 2020). 1 The United States remains a hotspot, with over three and a half million confirmed cases and more than 140,000 deaths. CDC, Cases in the U.S. (updated July 21, 2020). 2 COVID-19 is highly contagious. It spreads primarily through close person-to-person contact, because carriers of the virus produce airborne respiratory droplets when they cough, sneeze, or talk that may be inhaled by others standing nearby. See CDC, How to Protect Yourself & Others (Apr. 14, 2020). 3 Though less frequent, the virus can be also spread through contact with contaminated surfaces. See CDC, Detailed Disinfection Guidance (updated July , 2020). 4 Symptoms, such as fever, cough, and shortness of breath, typically appear two to fourteen days after exposure, but even those who are asymptomatic may be capable of spreading the disease. CDC, Clinical Questions about COVID-19: Questions and Answers – Transmission 1 https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019. 2 https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-updates/cases-in-us.html. 3 https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/prevention.html. 4 https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/cleaning- disinfection.html. 2 (July 21, 2020). 5 The most effective ways to prevent contracting the virus are to avoid being within six feet of other people, to wash your hands frequently, to avoid crowded ...
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