PRECEDENTIAL ICO-005E UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT _____________ No. 20-1784 _____________ AARON HOPE; IWAN RAHARDJA JESUS DE LA PENA; RAKIBU ADAM DUC VIET LAM; YELENA MUKHINA NAHOM GEBRETNISAE; ISMAIL MUHAMMED; GLENN WEITHERS KONSTANTIN BUGARENKO; BRISIO BALDERAS-DOMINGUEZ; VIVIANA CEBALLOS; WILDERS PAUL; MARCOS JAVIER ORTIZ MATOS; ALEXANDER ALVARENGA ARMANDO AVECILLA; COSWIN RICARDO MURRAY; EDWIN LUIS CRISOSTOMO RODRIGUEZ; ELDON BERNARD BRIETTE; DEMBO SANNOH; JESUS ANGEL JUAREZ PANTOJA; ALGER FRANCOIS v. WARDEN YORK COUNTY PRISON; WARDEN PIKE COUNTY CORRECTIONAL FACILITY; DIRECTOR PHILADELPHIA FIELD OFFICE IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT; DIRECTOR UNITED STATES IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT; SECRETARY UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY, Appellants ____________________________________ On Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania District Court No. 1-20-cv-00562 District Judge: The Honorable John E. Jones, III _____________________________________ Before: SMITH, Chief Judge, HARDIMAN and SCIRICA, Circuit Judges.1 (Opinion filed: April 21, 2020) Richard Euliss Harlan W. Glasser Office of United States Attorney Middle District of Pennsylvania 228 Walnut Street, P.O. Box 11754 220 Federal Building and Courthouse Harrisburg, PA 17108 1 Although Judge Shwartz is a member of this standing motions panel, she is recused from this proceeding. 2 Jeffrey S. Robins United States Department of Justice Office of Immigration Litigation Room 6040 P.O. Box 878 Ben Franklin Station Washington, DC 20044 Counsel for Appellants Carla G. Graff Kelly A. Krellner Thomas J. Miller Will W. Sachse Dechert 2929 Arch Street 18th Floor, Cira Centre Philadelphia, PA 19104 Vanessa Stine Muneeda S. Talukder American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania P.O. Box 60173 Philadelphia, PA 19106 Witold J. Walczak American Civil Liberties Union P.O. Box 23058 Pittsburgh, PA 15222 Counsel for Appellees 3 _________ OPINION OF THE COURT _________ SMITH, Chief Judge. In this interlocutory appeal, the Government contests the District Court’s order directing the immediate release of twenty immigration detainees because of the COVID-19 pandemic. 2 Before we may even consider the merits of the Government’s appeal, we must of course determine that we have appellate jurisdiction. By order entered April 15, 2020, we notified the parties that jurisdiction exists. We now provide the reasons for that determination. I. On April 3, 2020, a diverse group of twenty immigration detainees 3 housed at York County Prison (York) and Pike County Correctional Facility (Pike) filed the underlying habeas petition pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241. The petitioners sought immediate release, 2 COVID-19 is a highly contagious respiratory virus that poses unique risks in population-dense facilities. United States v. Raia, No. 20-1033, 2020 WL 1647922, at *1 (3d Cir. Apr. 8, 2020). 3 Initially, there were twenty-two petitioners, but two were released by agreement with the Government. 4 claiming that due to various underlying health conditions, their continued detention during the COVID-19 pandemic puts them at imminent risk of death or serious injury and thereby violates their constitutional rights. Concurrently with the petition, the petitioners filed a motion for a temporary restraining order (TRO) directing their immediate release. The District Court responded quickly, concluding that the petitioners face irreparable ...
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