As responses to the COVID-19 virus drastically change the course of daily living worldwide, Immigration and Customs Enforcement must also do their part to hamper the continued spread of this deadly virus. With the rapid spread of COVID-19 throughout the nation, we are writing to urge ICE to halt all further immigration enforcement operations and in-person court appearances for bond and master calendar hearings, suspend the detention of new individuals, immediately release those individuals in ICE custody at the Strafford County Department of Corrections in New Hampshire, and to prepare a plan for safely reintegrating those individuals into the community. 

As of April 2nd, a deputy sheriff in Strafford County has tested positive for COVID-19. We cannot take any more close calls such as this one - if COVID-19 spreads inside the Strafford County Department of Corrections, it will spread like wildfire and kill members of the high-risk population inside. Those detained must be released now. 

This formal demand letter was written by members of the Maine Law Refugee and Human Rights Clinic, Community Voices for Immigrant Rights, and the ACLU of New Hampshire. Please add your name to show your support of this demand to release detainees in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.