Episode 32: The Insidious Impact of COVID-19 on Immigration

Drugs and Stuff: A Podcast from the Drug Policy Alliance

Immigrant detention centers are bleak places in the best of times, but during a pandemic they are absolutely dangerous. And yet U.S. immigration enforcement has carried on as COVID-19 continues to spread, exacerbating the stress and anxiety that people who are non-citizens and/or undocumented already feel when dealing with a system that is unforgiving in its measures. This week activist Alejandra Pablos joins us to share her experience in one of these centers, in conversation with DPA’s Director of National Affairs Maritza Perez and DPA’s California State Director Jeannette Zanipatin. They examine how the drug war drives much of what’s happening at the federal, state, and local levels with immigration court and ICE raids, and share the urgent need for decarceration and calls for advocacy.

This episode’s guests have listed some resources below for listeners who’d like to take a deeper dive.

• This Teen Vogue article contains various actions readers can take to help immigrants rights now, including actions around the #FreeThemAll campaign.
• The Farmworkers COVID-19 Pandemic Relief Fund contributes directly to farmworkers who have been left out of Congressional relief packages.
• Immigrant leaders with the Cosecha Movement launched a national immigrant worker fund to distribute immediate emergency relief to undocumented workers who have been excluded from receiving any federal aid. You can pledge to donate here.
• The Free Them All action toolkit from Detention Watch Network is an essential guide to supporting the #FreeThemAll movement at this time.
• ICE’s official guidance on the COVID-19 pandemic can be found here. Vox analyzed the policy and the discrepancies within it in an article here.
• This op-ed by a co-director and assistant director at Cal ACLU’s immigration response committee outlines the many issues with immigration detention during a pandemic and links to petitions.
• DPA’s COVID-19 response page contains sign on letters and other actions around immigration and other issues related to drug policy in the pandemic.