[UPDATE July 29, 2020: After over four months in detention at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Camilo Santiago Hernandez, one of our brave class action representatives, was finally released on an immigration bond. Mr. Santiago Hernandez should have been released months ago, but his release was delayed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and his inability to find private counsel to represent him at the outset of his immigration case. He was eventually connected with state-funded attorneys from the American Friends Service Committee who assisted him in filing applications for relief and in requesting a bond from the immigration judge. He is now reunited with his family after an incredibly difficult and scary period of detention.]
Camilo Santiago Hernandez is 32 years old and has lived in New Jersey for over 14 years. He fled Southern Mexico and is afraid to return there following the kidnapping and murder of his father. ICE detained Mr. Santiago Hernandez at his South Jersey home in March 2020 as he left for work. Mr. Santiago Hernandez has worked for many years in landscaping to support his United States–citizen son and other relatives, including a brother who was recently diagnosed with a brain tumor.
Mr. Santiago Hernandez feels “abandoned” and “desperate” at the Elizabeth Detention Center. He has participated in efforts to hunger strike in order to protest conditions at the facility. Still, things have not improved; according to Mr. Santiago Hernandez, the medical staff continue to neglect those in their care, detainees’ access to soap remains inconsistent, staff do not rigorously conform to safety protocols like masking, and laundry services are poor and commonly unavailable. Mr. Santiago Hernandez reports that detainees are united in their demands for humane treatment and in seeking their freedom from detention while the pandemic rages on.