motherjones--2020-03-26--ICE Detainees Were Pepper-Sprayed During a Briefing on Coronavirus

For the third time in three days , people detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement were pepper-sprayed on Wednesday as the coronavirus pandemic raises tensions within immigration jails .
All of the pepper-spraying incidents have occurred at detention centers run by the private prison giant GEO Group .
ICE spokesperson Bryan Cox wrote in a statement that four people were pepper-sprayed while in a room with 75 other immigration detainees at the LaSalle ICE Processing Center in Jena , Louisiana .
Cox said these measures were used after the detainees tried to “ force their way out of the housing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ declaration from Mariel Villarreal , an immigration attorney at Pangea Legal Services , presents a more comprehensive and disturbing picture .
Villarreal ’ s declaration states that the pepper-spraying occurred as women received a presentation about the coronavirus yesterday morning .
The declaration is based on a conversation Villarreal had with a client , who was one of the 79 women in the room where people were pepper-sprayed on Wednesday .
“ [ My client ] informed me that during the presentation , the women had questions about the virus and were expressing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ center , ” the attorney wrote in the declaration .
“ [ My client ] stated that the women ’ s questions were going unanswered and their concerns were being ignored by the officers.
” ( Mother Jones is withholding the client ’ s name because Villarreal has not yet obtained permission to share it publicly . )
The latest use of force comes as immigrants and asylum seekers detained by ICE grow more fearful about being crammed into immigration jails in the midst of a pandemic .
On Monday , about 60 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ICE detention center , in Texas , after they demanded to be released to protect themselves from the virus , the San Antonio Express-News reported .
ICE announced on Tuesday that a detainee in New Jersey had tested positive for COVID-19 , the first confirmed case in its custody .
On Wednesday , I reported that seven men were pepper-sprayed at GEO Group ’ s Pine Prairie , Louisiana , immigration detention center after they refused to go outside because they were fearful of being mistreated by guards while isolated from other detainees @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but Cox said it was pepper spray that was used against them .
Villarreal ’ s declaration continues : [ My client ] then informed me that the officers grew impatient and angry with the women and released tear gas into the room where they were giving the presentation .
The officers promptly left the room and locked the doors .
[ She ] told me that her and the rest of the women were left locked inside the room with tear gas for approximately one hour .
She stated that the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the room , but no one came to their aid .
[ She ] stated that the women were coughing , crying , and that some fainted throughout the approximately one hour that they were locked in the room with tear gas .
[ She ] said that after approximately one hour , officers came and unlocked the doors , and they entered wearing full protective face gear to prevent effects of the tear gas .
[ She ] informed me that , as we were speaking , her eyes were red @ @ @ @ @ @ @ area and throat were in pain .
In the middle of our conversation , the call was lost and I did not receive a call back from [ my client ] .
I called the ICE Processing Center to attempt to be reconnected with [ her ] , but I was informed that it was not possible at that time .
Data released by ICE on Wednesday showed that the number of people in the agency ’ s custody increased by more than 700 between March 14 and March 21 , rising to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ experts and immigrant advocates are calling on ICE to release people from detention who don ’ t pose a threat to public safety , but ICE is refusing to do so .

For the third time in three days, people detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement were pepper-sprayed on Wednesday as the coronavirus pandemic raises tensions within immigration jails. All of the pepper-spraying incidents have occurred at detention centers run by the private prison giant GEO Group.
ICE spokesperson Bryan Cox wrote in a statement that four people were pepper-sprayed while in a room with 75 other immigration detainees at the LaSalle ICE Processing Center in Jena, Louisiana. Cox said these measures were used after the detainees tried to “force their way out of the housing area.”
A draft of a court declaration from Mariel Villarreal, an immigration attorney at Pangea Legal Services, presents a more comprehensive and disturbing picture. Villarreal’s declaration states that the pepper-spraying occurred as women received a presentation about the coronavirus yesterday morning. The declaration is based on a conversation Villarreal had with a client, who was one of the 79 women in the room where people were pepper-sprayed on Wednesday.
“[My client] informed me that during the presentation, the women had questions about the virus and were expressing fears about their safety in the detention center,” the attorney wrote in the declaration. “[My client] stated that the women’s questions were going unanswered and their concerns were being ignored by the officers.” (Mother Jones is withholding the client’s name because Villarreal has not yet obtained permission to share it publicly.)
The latest use of force comes as immigrants and asylum seekers detained by ICE grow more fearful about being crammed into immigration jails in the midst of a pandemic. On Monday, about 60 people were pepper-sprayed at another GEO Group ICE detention center, in Texas, after they demanded to be released to protect themselves from the virus, the San Antonio Express-News reported. ICE announced on Tuesday that a detainee in New Jersey had tested positive for COVID-19, the first confirmed case in its custody. On Wednesday, I reported that seven men were pepper-sprayed at GEO Group’s Pine Prairie, Louisiana, immigration detention center after they refused to go outside because they were fearful of being mistreated by guards while isolated from other detainees.
The women believed they were teargassed, but Cox said it was pepper spray that was used against them. Villarreal’s declaration continues:
[My client] then informed me that the officers grew impatient and angry with the women and released tear gas into the room where they were giving the presentation. The officers promptly left the room and locked the doors. [She] told me that her and the rest of the women were left locked inside the room with tear gas for approximately one hour. She stated that the women were screaming to be let out of the room, but no one came to their aid. [She] stated that the women were coughing, crying, and that some fainted throughout the approximately one hour that they were locked in the room with tear gas. [She] said that after approximately one hour, officers came and unlocked the doors, and they entered wearing full protective face gear to prevent effects of the tear gas. [She] informed me that, as we were speaking, her eyes were red and burning and that her whole neck area and throat were in pain. In the middle of our conversation, the call was lost and I did not receive a call back from [my client]. I called the ICE Processing Center to attempt to be reconnected with [her], but I was informed that it was not possible at that time.
Data released by ICE on Wednesday showed that the number of people in the agency’s custody increased by more than 700 between March 14 and March 21, rising to more than 38,000 in total. Health experts and immigrant advocates are calling on ICE to release people from detention who don’t pose a threat to public safety, but ICE is refusing to do so.


motherjones--2020-04-01--“Like Sheep for Slaughter”: American Airlines Flight Attendants Speak Out

Memories of 9/11 .
Canceled flights .
Intense fears for personal safety in the air .
With coronavirus making air travel increasingly dangerous , flight attendants say they ’ re faced with a set of difficulties centered around an impossible choice : stay home without pay , or imperil their health by flying .
Last week , an American Airlines flight attendant died from COVID-19 .
The next day , American—the world ’ s largest carrier by fleet size and number of passengers—announced that as of March 27 , it would no longer serve meals or snacks on flights shorter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ service for longer flights .
Later in the week , it announced it was suspending 60-80 percent of its domestic flights for April and May , citing “ decreased customer demand and government travel restrictions related to coronavirus.
” But flight attendants say the moves are too little , too late—and they are speaking out about what they believe is a severe lack of communication from the company , as well as an attendance policy that punishes employees for getting sick .
Flight attendants are at high risk for contracting coronavirus because of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ proximity to others , a recent New York Times analysis showed .
American Airlines flight attendants say that the company hasn ’ t done enough to protect their health and that it failed to quickly enact social distancing measures or provide protective supplies , such as hand sanitizer .
( Because of a hand sanitizer shortage , the company is providing hand-sanitizing towelettes . )
One American Airlines flight attendant said the treatment of airline personnel in the past few weeks was “ like sheep for slaughter.
” In interviews with Mother Jones @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for fear of retribution from the company—said that the airline failed to take basic safety precautions , such as allowing personnel to wear face masks , until the coronavirus had already come to the United States with a vengeance .
One of the most common complaints among flight attendants was of a lack of social distancing measures on board .
One flight attendant described a March 24 flight that carried 11 people total—all crammed in the last three rows .
“ The reasoning behind it is , well , they bought basic economy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ put them further up in the cabin , because that would be an upgrade , ” she explained .
She said that the flight attendants “ took it upon ourselves to spread them out.
” In recent days , the airline has announced some steps intended to address those issues .
On March 24—the same day as the trip described by the flight attendant—the company issued a new policy stating that “ gate agents may reassign seats to create more space between customers ” and that “ customers can move to another seat @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” It also said that 50 percent of standard middle seats and all seats bordering flight attendant jump seats would be left empty .
But even after March 24 , the same flight attendant worked a flight with 15 people seated in the last six rows of the plane .
No one was seated ahead of the exit row , she said , because that ’ s a different pricing tier .
“ My biggest concern is why any airplanes are still flying ” one flight attendant from the West Coast said .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ to sit next to someone in a movie theater or Broadway show , why is it okay to sit next to them on an airplane ?
” At a time when public health experts are urging all people who can stay indoors to do so , the close contact with strangers from around the world has many flight attendants concerned for their health .
“ Even though there ’ s 11 people in a plane , there ’ s still 11 people that I don ’ t know where they came from or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with , ” the worker who described the crowded back rows said .
“ For my own mental health , I ’ ve just been resolved that I ’ m exposed and I run a very high risk of contracting it.
” Last week , flight attendants received an email from the airline saying that they were now allowed to wear face masks when traveling—as long as they were neutral in color .
“ It ’ s insulting , ” the same flight attendant said .
“ Let ’ s suppose I do @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but it ’ s in purple .
Well , now you don ’ t want me to wear it because it ’ s purple and it ’ s not beige ?
” If a flight attendant becomes sick , the airline does not offer paid leave for self-isolation unless that worker tests positive for the virus or has confirmation from a medical professional that he or she came in contact with someone who was sick with coronavirus—but , as COVID-19 overwhelms health care systems across the country , such confirmations can be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has relaxed its attendance policy , allowing people who do qualify for paid sick days to take them without accruing “ points ” that harm workers ’ standing in the company .
The company is also offering unpaid leave , but , as one flight attendant puts it , “ If you don ’ t work , you don ’ t get paid.
” The new federal law mandating two weeks of paid sick leave for people who are sick , quarantined , or seeking diagnosis for the coronavirus does not apply to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 500 employees—a glaring loophole that has received widespread criticism .
“ There ’ s zero leadership trying to make us feel comfortable coming to work or feel comfortable that if we do decide to take it upon ourselves to self-quarantine and make sure that we ’ re doing okay , that we are not going to be reprimanded , ” another flight attendant said .
American Airlines did not respond to specific questions about its options for sick leave or any steps it has taken to ensure social distancing onboard its planes .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ team members is our top priority , ” the airline said in a statement .
“ We are in close contact with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) and public health officials and are coordinating with them on any required health and safety related measures.
” Infighting in the American Airlines flight attendant union hasn ’ t helped matters .
The union president , vice president , secretary , and treasurer reportedly announced in December that they would be stepping down at the conclusion of their terms this year @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this sentiment : The West Coast-based worker said , “ Both sides have been very communicative…and they are giving out information as soon as they get it.
” ) The Association of Professional Flight Attendants did not respond to repeated requests for comment .
Flight attendants also pointed to a lack of clear direction from the federal government—and an unwillingness on the part of the airline to take the initiative .
“ I feel like both of them , the union and the company , are sitting around waiting and seeing what our @ @ @ @ @ @ @ instead of being proactive , ” one worker said .
Looming even above the threat of getting sick is the possibility that the airline industry will not fully recover from the crisis .
The company has reportedly said that it does not expect to lay off employees or reduce their pay if it receives the $ 12 billion bailout it ’ s seeking from the federal government .
Still , three employees who spoke to Mother Jones compared their experiences in the past few weeks to the uncertainty they faced after the September @ @ @ @ @ @ @ when 20,000 employees of American Airlines ’ parent company lost their jobs in the week immediately following the disaster .
“ Post-9/11 , post-bankruptcy , our industry is really fragile , ” Andrea Gladson , an American Airlines pilot , said .
“ I would not want to be a flight attendant , honestly .
They ’ re just way more exposed probably than we are as pilots…and I worry about them , in that sense .
”

Memories of 9/11. Canceled flights. Intense fears for personal safety in the air. With the coronavirus making air travel increasingly dangerous, flight attendants say they’re faced with a set of difficulties centered around an impossible choice: stay home without pay, or imperil their health by flying.
“I run a very high risk of contracting it.”
Last week, an American Airlines flight attendant died of COVID-19. The next day, American—the world’s largest carrier by fleet size and number of passengers—announced that as of March 27, it would no longer serve meals or snacks on flights shorter than 2,200 miles and would reduce food service for longer flights. Later in the week, it announced it was suspending 60–80 percent of its domestic flights for April and May, citing “decreased customer demand and government travel restrictions related to coronavirus.” But flight attendants say the moves are too little, too late—and they are speaking out about what they believe is a severe lack of communication from the company, as well as an attendance policy that punishes employees for getting sick.
Flight attendants are at high risk for contracting the coronavirus because of their exposure to diseases and their physical proximity to others, a recent New York Times analysis showed. American Airlines flight attendants say the company hasn’t done enough to protect their health and that it failed to quickly enact social distancing measures or provide protective supplies such as hand sanitizer. (Because of a hand sanitizer shortage, the company is providing sanitizing towelettes.) One American Airlines flight attendant said the treatment of airline personnel in the past few weeks was “like sheep for slaughter.”
In interviews with Mother Jones, three flight attendants—who all requested anonymity for fear of retribution from the company—said the airline failed to take basic safety precautions, such as allowing personnel to wear face masks, until the coronavirus had already come to the United States with a vengeance.
One of the most common complaints among flight attendants was of a lack of social distancing measures onboard. One flight attendant described a March 24 flight that carried 11 people total—all crammed in the last three rows. “The reasoning behind it is, well, they bought basic economy fares, so we can’t put them further up in the cabin, because that would be an upgrade,” she explained. She said that the flight attendants “took it upon ourselves to spread them out.”
In recent days, the airline has announced some steps intended to address those issues. On March 24—the same day as the trip described by the flight attendant—the company issued a new policy stating that “gate agents may reassign seats to create more space between customers” and that “customers can move to another seat within their ticketed cabin subject to availability.” It also said that 50 percent of standard middle seats and all seats bordering flight attendant jump seats would be left empty. But even after March 24, the same flight attendant worked a flight with 15 people seated in the last six rows of the plane. No one was seated ahead of the exit row, she said, because that’s a different pricing tier.
“My biggest concern is why any airplanes are still flying,” one flight attendant from the West Coast said. “If it’s not okay to sit next to someone in a movie theater or Broadway show, why is it okay to sit next to them on an airplane?”
At a time when public health experts are urging all people who can stay indoors to do so, the close contact with strangers from around the world has many flight attendants concerned for their health. “Even though there’s 11 people in a plane, there’s still 11 people that I don’t know where they came from or who they’ve been in contact with,” the worker who described the crowded back rows said. “For my own mental health, I’ve just been resolved that I’m exposed and I run a very high risk of contracting it.”
Last week, flight attendants received an email from the airline saying that they were now allowed to wear face masks when traveling—as long as they were neutral in color. “It’s insulting,” the same flight attendant said. “Let’s suppose I do go on Amazon and find a mask, but it’s in purple. Well, now you don’t want me to wear it because it’s purple and it’s not beige?”
If a flight attendant becomes sick, the airline does not offer paid leave for self-isolation unless that worker tests positive for the virus or has confirmation from a medical professional that he or she came in contact with someone who was sick with coronavirus—but, as COVID-19 overwhelms health care systems across the country, such confirmations can be hard to come by. The airline has relaxed its attendance policy, allowing people who do qualify for paid sick days to take them without accruing “points” that harm workers’ standing in the company. The company is also offering unpaid leave, but, as one flight attendant puts it, “If you don’t work, you don’t get paid.”
The new federal law mandating two weeks of paid sick leave for people who are sick, quarantined, or seeking diagnosis for the coronavirus does not apply to American Airlines because it has more than 500 employees—a glaring loophole that has received widespread criticism.
“There’s zero leadership trying to make us feel comfortable coming to work or feel comfortable that if we do decide to take it upon ourselves to self-quarantine and make sure that we’re doing okay, that we are not going to be reprimanded,” another flight attendant said.
American Airlines did not respond to specific questions about its options for sick leave or any steps it has taken to ensure social distancing onboard its planes. “The safety of our customers and team members is our top priority,” the airline said in a statement. “We are in close contact with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and public health officials and are coordinating with them on any required health and safety related measures.”
Infighting in the American Airlines flight attendant union hasn’t helped matters. The union president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer reportedly announced in December that they would be stepping down at the conclusion of their terms this year. (Not all flight attendants share this sentiment: The West Coast-based worker said, “Both sides have been very communicative…and they are giving out information as soon as they get it.”) The Association of Professional Flight Attendants did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
Flight attendants also pointed to a lack of clear direction from the federal government—and an unwillingness on the part of the airline to take the initiative. “I feel like both of them, the union and the company, are sitting around waiting and seeing what our illustrious leader is going to do, instead of being proactive,” one worker said.
Looming even above the threat of getting sick is the possibility that the airline industry will not fully recover from the crisis. The company has reportedly said that it does not expect to lay off employees or reduce their pay if it receives the $12 billion bailout it’s seeking from the federal government. Still, three employees who spoke to Mother Jones compared their experiences in the past few weeks to the uncertainty they faced after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, when 20,000 employees of American Airlines’ parent company lost their jobs in the week immediately following the disaster.
“Post-9/11, post-bankruptcy, our industry is really fragile,” Andrea Gladson, an American Airlines pilot, said. “I would not want to be a flight attendant, honestly. They’re just way more exposed probably than we are as pilots…and I worry about them, in that sense.”


motherjones--2020-04-01--The Coronavirus Has Spread to the US Marshals’ Detention Empire

Five people being detained in federal pretrial custody by the United States Marshals Service have tested positive for the coronavirus , the agency has now confirmed to me .
The cases have not been previously reported .
Three of the detainees are held facing charge in the Washington , DC , federal court district and are in medical isolation .
Two other detainees , one in the Eastern District of New York and another in the Northern District of Georgia , have now recovered from the virus , according to the agency .
The Marshals Service is responsible for detaining @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
But it does not own its own jails .
Instead , it uses a network of approximately 1,000 local jails , private facilities , and federal detention centers to house approximately 66,000 federal pretrial detainees , people charged with but not yet convicted of federal crimes .
The agency did not identify the specific facilities where these detainees are held .
The Marshals said Tuesday that local and private facilities where it sends federal pretrial detainees decide themselves how they ’ ll respond to the crisis .
“ All training protocols , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at the facility level , ” agency spokesperson Lynzey Donahue said in a statement .
As I reported in a 2019 investigation , a partnership between Type Investigations and Mother Jones , on the Marshals ’ detention system , the agency ’ s hands-off approach toward the facilities it uses relegates detained people to facilities where they ’ ve been subjected to medical neglect .
According to a year of reporting , based on interviews and thousands of pages of government documents , the agency imposes scant oversight of most of the facilities @ @ @ @ @ @ @ routinely sends detainees to facilities that other government and independent watchdogs have found sorely out of compliance .
According to federal records I first reported in October , hundreds of Marshals detainees in recent years have died in county jails and private prisons that are not complying with baseline medical and mental health standards .
The Marshals ’ five positive tests are almost certainly an undercount , and the agency would not identify how many detainees were currently held in quarantine over suspicion of infection .
According to Dierdre D. von Dornum , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the Eastern District of New York , at least two detainees are currently in isolation in the Marshals facility in Queens , waiting for test results .
The facility is operated by the private prison company Geo Group .
Marshals detention is relatively inflexible , because the agency does not have the independent discretion to release people it holds .
Unlike Immigration and Customs Enforcement , a parallel federal agency that holds immigrants facing the threat of deportation and that could immediately release immigration detainees on parole , Marshals detainees are stuck @ @ @ @ @ @ @ magistrate grants them release .
Federal public defenders ’ offices around the county have filed a rash of requests to federal courts , asking that medically vulnerable pretrial detainees be released from detention on bail , and allowed to return to their communities .
Von Dornum and several other federal defenders say that the Marshals have helped their offices in identifying detainees who are most medically vulnerable .
But because in many parts of the country the federal pretrial population is scattered in an archipelago of county-run and private jails , public defenders @ @ @ @ @ @ @ those in most urgent need of release , and advocates for prisoners say that the case-by-case approach may be dangerously slow .
Defenders are looking for scaled fixes .
In the Eastern District of New York , the federal defenders filed a lawsuit to ask the court to release 537 medically vulnerable people from federal custody in Brooklyn ’ s Metropolitan Detention Center before the virus is carried further into facilities after it is introduced by detainees of facility employees .
The federal defender in San Diego filed a letter on Tuesday asking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ press the US Attorney for the Southern District of California to stop detaining people in pre-trial detention .
The letter details numerous examples of assistant US attorneys resisting requests for release by sick detainees .
In addition to the five US Marshals ’ detainees , the agency reports that as of Monday , 19 Marshals staff , including full time employees , and contractors who may include drivers or court security guards , have also tested positive for the novel coronavirus .
“ Prisons , jails and detention centers are extremely dangerous places @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Smith , who for several years under the Obama administrations was the head of a Justice Department office that investigated jail and prison conditions .
He is now head of the Washington Lawyers ’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs .
“ Federal courts need to get detained people out , away from the danger in detention , and into a community setting.
” This story was reported in partnership with Type Investigations , where Seth Freed Wessler is a fellow .
Formerly The Investigative Fund , Type Investigations incubates high-impact investigative @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Type brings underreported stories to light , cultivates diverse journalistic talent , and creates a home for independent journalism that serves the public .

Editor’s note, 4/9/20: Since this story was published, 40 more people held in federal pretrial detention by the US Marshals have tested positive for the coronavirus. That’s a 900 percent increase in a week; the total number of infected detainees is now 45. The agency reports that 37 Marshals Service staff members, including full-time and contract employees, also have tested positive for the coronavirus.
Five people being detained in federal pretrial custody by the United States Marshals Service have tested positive for the coronavirus, the agency has now confirmed to me. The cases have not been previously reported. Three of the detainees are held facing charge in the Washington, DC, federal court district and are in medical isolation. Two other detainees, one in the Eastern District of New York and another in the Northern District of Georgia, have now recovered from the virus, according to the agency.
The Marshals Service is responsible for detaining people facing criminal charges in federal courts. But it does not own its own jails. Instead, it uses a network of approximately 1,000 local jails, private facilities, and federal detention centers to house approximately 66,000 federal pretrial detainees, people charged with but not yet convicted of federal crimes. The agency did not identify the specific facilities where these detainees are held.
The Marshals said Tuesday that local and private facilities where it sends federal pretrial detainees decide themselves how they’ll respond to the crisis. “All training protocols, quarantine decisions or policy adjustments are made at the facility level,” agency spokesperson Lynzey Donahue said in a statement.
According to federal records I first reported in October, hundreds of Marshals detainees in recent years have died in county jails and private prisons that are not complying with baseline medical and mental health standards.
As I reported in a 2019 investigation, a partnership between Type Investigations and Mother Jones, on the Marshals’ detention system, the agency’s hands-off approach toward the facilities it uses relegates detained people to facilities where they’ve been subjected to medical neglect. According to a year of reporting, based on interviews and thousands of pages of government documents, the agency imposes scant oversight of most of the facilities it uses to hold detainees, and routinely sends detainees to facilities that other government and independent watchdogs have found sorely out of compliance. According to federal records I first reported in October, hundreds of Marshals detainees in recent years have died in county jails and private prisons that are not complying with baseline medical and mental health standards.
The Marshals’ five positive tests are almost certainly an undercount, and the agency would not identify how many detainees were currently held in quarantine over suspicion of infection. According to Dierdre D. von Dornum, the head of the federal defenders office in the Eastern District of New York, at least two detainees are currently in isolation in the Marshals facility in Queens, waiting for test results. The facility is operated by the private prison company Geo Group.
Marshals detention is relatively inflexible, because the agency does not have the independent discretion to release people it holds. Unlike Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a parallel federal agency that holds immigrants facing the threat of deportation and that could immediately release immigration detainees on parole, Marshals detainees are stuck in detention unless a federal judge or magistrate grants them release.
The Marshals’ five positive tests are almost certainly an undercount, and the agency would not identify how many detainees were currently held in quarantine over suspicion of infection.
Federal public defenders’ offices around the county have filed a rash of requests to federal courts, asking that medically vulnerable pretrial detainees be released from detention on bail, and allowed to return to their communities. Von Dornum and several other federal defenders say that the Marshals have helped their offices in identifying detainees who are most medically vulnerable. But because in many parts of the country the federal pretrial population is scattered in an archipelago of county-run and private jails, public defenders say it may be difficult to identify those in most urgent need of release, and advocates for prisoners say that the case-by-case approach may be dangerously slow.
Defenders are looking for scaled fixes. In the Eastern District of New York, the federal defenders filed a lawsuit to ask the court to release 537 medically vulnerable people from federal custody in Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center before the virus is carried further into facilities after it is introduced by detainees of facility employees. The federal defender in San Diego filed a letter on Tuesday asking Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) to press the US Attorney for the Southern District of California to stop detaining people in pre-trial detention. The letter details numerous examples of assistant US attorneys resisting requests for release by sick detainees.
In addition to the five US Marshals’ detainees, the agency reports that as of Monday, 19 Marshals staff, including full time employees, and contractors who may include drivers or court security guards, have also tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
“Prisons, jails and detention centers are extremely dangerous places in this crisis,” said Jonathan Smith, who for several years under the Obama administrations was the head of a Justice Department office that investigated jail and prison conditions. He is now head of the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs. “Federal courts need to get detained people out, away from the danger in detention, and into a community setting.”
This story was reported in partnership with Type Investigations, where Seth Freed Wessler is a fellow. Formerly The Investigative Fund, Type Investigations incubates high-impact investigative reporting that holds the powerful accountable. Type brings underreported stories to light, cultivates diverse journalistic talent, and creates a home for independent journalism that serves the public.


motherjones--2020-04-01--How Donald Trump Plans on Spinning 200,000 Coronavirus Deaths as a Win

A virus can adapt quickly , and so can Donald Trump .
Through the course of the coronavirus crisis , Trump has demonstrated the adaptability that has so often helped his career in business and politics , as he shifted from predator developer to scammy brand-marketer to reality-TV celebrity .
And one element of that flexibility is Trump ’ s unparalleled capacity to say whatever he needs at a given moment to gain an advantage or serve a personal interest .
This skill , if it can be called that , was on display at a recent Trump campaign rally @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the White House , where Trump and members of his coronavirus task force brief reporters and the rest of the world .
( Trump has been bragging about the ratings for these briefings , cheering his audience numbers , as Americans perish . )
When Trump at this particular session on Sunday wasn ’ t bashing the media , belittling his perceived foes , or praising himself , he made a startling remark : “ So you ’ re talking about 2.2 million deaths , 2.2 million people from this .
And @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , as we ’ re saying , to 100,000 .
It ’ s a horrible number , maybe even less —but to 100,000 .
So we have between 100 and 200,000 , and we altogether have done a very good job.
” At this briefing , Trump 16 times pointed to the 2.2 million estimate .
That number comes from a new British study that Trump ’ s health care advisers had shown him that projects this level of death in “ the ( unlikely ) absence of any control measures or spontaneous @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , without social distancing , testing , and the like .
( Trump ’ s experts had put this report in front of him so he would see that his idiotic idea to ease social restrictions by Easter would cause hundreds of thousands of deaths . )
Trump , who on February 26 , when there were 15 reported coronavirus cases in the United States , said the number would soon be “ down to close to zero , ” was now tossing out a horrendous number .
It was quite the turnaround—and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ finally realized that the amount of coronavirus death in this country on his watch is going to be astronomical .
His weeks of denial , inaction , and dangerous happy-talk—downplaying the threat , claiming the virus would disappear in better weather , saying it was no worse than the flu , hinting social restraints could soon be lifted—had done nothing to stop the lethal threat spreading across the country .
( A virus can ’ t be stopped by BS . )
Trump , who originally worried that bad coronavirus numbers would spook @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reelection argument , needed to pivot .
To adapt .
Now that Trump could no longer pitch himself as the beautiful-economy president , he recast himself as the great lifesaver of America .
And he initiated a cynical and loathsome expectations game .
If the coronavirus might kill 2.2. million , then what a hero he would be if it only claims the lives of 200,000 Americans .
Should this come to pass , Trump will claim that 2 million Americans owe him their lives .
Trump the coronavirus savior—that ’ s his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , he claimed that some advisers—no names , of course—had urged him to ride out the crisis and do nothing : “ Just ride it .
Ride it like a cowboy .
Ride that sucker right through.
” And Trump proudly took credit for not following the dumbest advice imaginable .
In fact , Trump portrayed his ( eventual ) unwillingness to do nothing as a courageous act that will prevent the death of 2.2 million .
He repeated this line at the Tuesday press briefing , repeating the nutty notion that “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ride it out.
” He added , “ Think what would happen if we didn ’ t do anything.
” Imagine a firefighter boasting of not standing by and watching a building burn to the ground .
Of course , Trump had not rushed to the fire .
He completely botched and bungled the first weeks of the crisis , with a stretch of neglect and screwups that will likely lead to the deaths of thousands of Americans , if not more .
But as a reality-TV president more focused on PR than @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the script as the first act plays .
Like a virus , he can change with no regard of past actions .
At that Tuesday briefing , Trump appeared more somber than usual and deferred to the experts to discuss the projected death tolls—though he did suggest he deserved praise for “ the job that ’ s been done.
” ( Trump is well skilled in goal-post-shifting .
He did this repeatedly through the Russia and Ukraine scandals .
For instance , he defined wrongdoing in the Russia controversy as only direct collusion @ @ @ @ @ @ @ attack on the 2016 election ; this drew attention from his actions and those of his campaign that aided and abetted the Russian assault . )
There is a limit on Trump ’ s mutability : his deeply rooted pathologies .
As Trump has tried in recent days to demonstrate ( intermittently ) that he comprehends the gravity of the crisis and is heeding the recommendations of the experts , he has been unable to restrain his never-ending flow of dark impulses .
He spent days attacking Michigan Gov .
Gretchen Whitmer , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
( “ If they don ’ t treat you right , I don ’ t call.
” ) Here he was yielding to his obsession with revenge and his fixation on petty grievances—even though it possibly could cause Michigan voters to view him negatively .
Trump won Michigan in 2016 and will need a victory there in 2020 to keep his hold on the White House .
The smart political move would be to avoid alienating Michigan voters .
Yet Trump could not stop his warped psyche from winning the day .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ stage for a grand finale in which he can claim victory and demand reelection while standing on the corpses of 200,000 or so dead Americans .
This will be an absurd argument but the nation has already seen a flood of absurdity from Trump and an overflow of credulity from his cultlike followers .
Still , meeting his own 200,000-dead mark of success could ( unfortunately for the nation ) be an arduous task for Trump .
On Monday , Dr. Deborah Birx , the response coordinator for Trump ’ s coronavirus task @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Today show and said , “ If we do things together well , almost perfectly , we could get in the range of 100,000 to 200,000 fatalities.
” And she added , “ We ’ re not sure all of America is responding in a uniform way ” —meaning we are not doing things almost perfectly .
If Birx is correct , Trump might have outsmarted himself by establishing 200,000 as his ghoulish I-win benchmark , for her grim prediction reaches higher in the real world where the response is not almost perfect @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Where are the ventilators ?
Where is the PPE ?
Where are the lockdown orders in areas about to be hit by coronavirus ? )
.
But Trump , the onetime owner of bankrupt casinos , appears to be betting on this 200,000 estimate .
That horrific level of death will still be a tremendous tragedy for which Trump will bear partial responsibility .
And the number of fatalities is likely to be higher .
Should that be the case , Trump will , no doubt , adapt once more and concoct a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ conscience .
It only exists to survive and spread .

A virus can adapt quickly, and so can Donald Trump.
Through the course of the coronavirus crisis, Trump has demonstrated the adaptability that has so often helped his career in business and politics, as he shifted from predator developer to scammy brand-marketer to reality-TV celebrity. And one element of that flexibility is Trump’s unparalleled capacity to say whatever he needs at a given moment to gain an advantage or serve a personal interest.
This skill, if it can be called that, was on display at a recent Trump campaign rally, which these days are held daily in the White House, where Trump and members of his coronavirus task force brief reporters and the rest of the world. (Trump has been bragging about the ratings for these briefings, cheering his audience numbers, as Americans perish.) When Trump at this particular session on Sunday wasn’t bashing the media, belittling his perceived foes, or praising himself, he made a startling remark: “So you’re talking about 2.2 million deaths, 2.2 million people from this. And so if we could hold that down, as we’re saying, to 100,000. It’s a horrible number, maybe even less —but to 100,000. So we have between 100 and 200,000, and we altogether have done a very good job.”
At this briefing, Trump 16 times pointed to the 2.2 million estimate. That number comes from a new British study that Trump’s health care advisers had shown him that projects this level of death in “the (unlikely) absence of any control measures or spontaneous changes in individual behaviour.” That is, without social distancing, testing, and the like. (Trump’s experts had put this report in front of him so he would see that his idiotic idea to ease social restrictions by Easter would cause hundreds of thousands of deaths.) Trump, who on February 26, when there were 15 reported coronavirus cases in the United States, said the number would soon be “down to close to zero,” was now tossing out a horrendous number. It was quite the turnaround—and very purposeful.
It appeared Trump had finally realized that the amount of coronavirus death in this country on his watch is going to be astronomical. His weeks of denial, inaction, and dangerous happy-talk—downplaying the threat, claiming the virus would disappear in better weather, saying it was no worse than the flu, hinting social restraints could soon be lifted—had done nothing to stop the lethal threat spreading across the country. (A virus can’t be stopped by BS.) Trump, who originally worried that bad coronavirus numbers would spook the markets and undercut his the-economy-is-great! reelection argument, needed to pivot. To adapt.
Now that Trump could no longer pitch himself as the beautiful-economy president, he recast himself as the great lifesaver of America. And he initiated a cynical and loathsome expectations game. If the coronavirus might kill 2.2. million, then what a hero he would be if it only claims the lives of 200,000 Americans. Should this come to pass, Trump will claim that 2 million Americans owe him their lives.
Trump the coronavirus savior—that’s his new role. At this particular briefing, he claimed that some advisers—no names, of course—had urged him to ride out the crisis and do nothing: “Just ride it. Ride it like a cowboy. Ride that sucker right through.” And Trump proudly took credit for not following the dumbest advice imaginable. In fact, Trump portrayed his (eventual) unwillingness to do nothing as a courageous act that will prevent the death of 2.2 million. He repeated this line at the Tuesday press briefing, repeating the nutty notion that “a lot of people were saying just ride it out.” He added, “Think what would happen if we didn’t do anything.” Imagine a firefighter boasting of not standing by and watching a building burn to the ground.
Of course, Trump had not rushed to the fire. He completely botched and bungled the first weeks of the crisis, with a stretch of neglect and screwups that will likely lead to the deaths of thousands of Americans, if not more. But as a reality-TV president more focused on PR than policy, he believes he can rewrite the script as the first act plays. Like a virus, he can change with no regard of past actions. At that Tuesday briefing, Trump appeared more somber than usual and deferred to the experts to discuss the projected death tolls—though he did suggest he deserved praise for “the job that’s been done.” (Trump is well skilled in goal-post-shifting. He did this repeatedly through the Russia and Ukraine scandals. For instance, he defined wrongdoing in the Russia controversy as only direct collusion between his circle and Moscow’s attack on the 2016 election; this drew attention from his actions and those of his campaign that aided and abetted the Russian assault.)
There is a limit on Trump’s mutability: his deeply rooted pathologies. As Trump has tried in recent days to demonstrate (intermittently) that he comprehends the gravity of the crisis and is heeding the recommendations of the experts, he has been unable to restrain his never-ending flow of dark impulses. He spent days attacking Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, and threatening other governors. (“If they don’t treat you right, I don’t call.”) Here he was yielding to his obsession with revenge and his fixation on petty grievances—even though it possibly could cause Michigan voters to view him negatively. Trump won Michigan in 2016 and will need a victory there in 2020 to keep his hold on the White House. The smart political move would be to avoid alienating Michigan voters. Yet Trump could not stop his warped psyche from winning the day.
Trump is now attempting to set the stage for a grand finale in which he can claim victory and demand reelection while standing on the corpses of 200,000 or so dead Americans. This will be an absurd argument but the nation has already seen a flood of absurdity from Trump and an overflow of credulity from his cultlike followers. Still, meeting his own 200,000-dead mark of success could (unfortunately for the nation) be an arduous task for Trump. On Monday, Dr. Deborah Birx, the response coordinator for Trump’s coronavirus task force, appeared on NBC’s Today show and said, “If we do things together well, almost perfectly, we could get in the range of 100,000 to 200,000 fatalities.” And she added, “We’re not sure all of America is responding in a uniform way”—meaning we are not doing things almost perfectly.
If Birx is correct, Trump might have outsmarted himself by establishing 200,000 as his ghoulish I-win benchmark, for her grim prediction reaches higher in the real world where the response is not almost perfect. (Where are the tests? Where are the ventilators? Where is the PPE? Where are the lockdown orders in areas about to be hit by coronavirus?). But Trump, the onetime owner of bankrupt casinos, appears to be betting on this 200,000 estimate. That horrific level of death will still be a tremendous tragedy for which Trump will bear partial responsibility. And the number of fatalities is likely to be higher. Should that be the case, Trump will, no doubt, adapt once more and concoct a new strain. A virus has no conscience. It only exists to survive and spread.
Image credits: Oliver Contreras/CNP/ZUMA; Kevin Dietsch/CNP/ZUMA; Yuri Gripas/CNP/ZUMA


motherjones--2020-04-01--Civil Rights Groups Sue ICE to Force Release of Detainees Vulnerable to COVID-19

Civil rights groups are suing the Trump administration to force it to release people from immigration jails as the coronavirus outbreak continues to spread across the country .
In an emergency motion filed on Tuesday , the Southern Poverty Law Center and American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana requested that a federal judge require Immigration and Customs Enforcement to release asylum seekers from detention centers in the Deep South if they don ’ t pose a threat to public safety or a flight risk .
Among the people identified in the lawsuit as particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 are a Cuban @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who is HIV-positive .
“ Class members risked their lives to escape persecution and torture in their home countries , ” the lawsuit states .
“ These asylum-seekers now find themselves trapped in what has essentially become a ticking-timebomb and , for many , a tomb.
” For weeks , health and corrections experts have called on ICE to release people from detention who don ’ t pose a threat to public safety .
The agency has refused to do so .
Instead , the number of people in its custody increased by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ March 21 , rising to more than 38,000 people in total .
To date , ICE ’ s website listed four cases of detainees testing positive for COVID-19 , but there are likely more people in its custody who ’ ve contracted the virus ; the agency had only tested 25 people as of last Wednesday .
Tensions have been rising within detention centers as immigrants and asylum seekers fearful of being infected push for their release .
Last week , there were several incidents in which detainees were pepper-sprayed at facilities owned @ @ @ @ @ @ @ prison company that contracts with ICE .
On Monday , guards used “ pepper balls ” against 23 detainees at GEO Group ’ s LaSalle ICE Processing Center , according to a government report obtained by BuzzFeed News .
The San Antonio Express-News reported that the same day , about 60 people were pepper-sprayed at another GEO Group immigration detention center , this one in Texas , after they demanded to be released to protect them from the virus .
As I previously reported , on Tuesday guards pepper-sprayed at least seven men @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Louisiana , detention center , then transferred them to isolation cells .
And I reported that the following day , officials at the LaSalle ICE Processing Center , also in Louisiana , pepper-sprayed women during a briefing on COVID-19 .
There were nearly 80 people in the room at the time .
One of them told her lawyer that detention center staff left them locked up for about an hour as they screamed for help .
On Tuesday morning , Yoneli Figueredo-Pollato , a 34-year-old Cuban asylum seeker , called me to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that began after he was pepper-sprayed at Pine Prairie a week ago .
After initially being sent to solitary confinement , he said he ’ d been transferred to the medical unit .
When I asked in Spanish how he was feeling , he replied with one word : “ Weak.
” The lawsuit could force the release of asylum seekers in the five states managed by ICE ’ s New Orleans field office : Alabama , Arkansas , Louisiana , Mississippi , and Tennessee .
Most of those asylum seekers are in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nation ’ s worst COVID-19 outbreaks .
On Saturday , Patrick Jones , who was serving a drug sentence at a prison in Oakdale , Louisiana , became the first person to die of COVID-19 in the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons .
The Oakdale prison is next to the Oakdale immigration court and is about 20 minutes away from from GEO Group ’ s Pine Prairie detention center .
Asylum seekers are being indefinitely detained in Louisiana because ICE has refused to release them on parole so they can live @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s emergency request for a preliminary injunction is part of ongoing litigation about parole denials before federal Judge James Boasberg .
As I reported earlier this month : In a declaration supporting the new request , R.P.H.
, a 50-year-old Cuban woman detained at a GEO Group facility in Basile , Louisiana , explained that she had a mastectomy and survived 16 cycles of radiation treatment before seeking asylum in the United States .
The lawsuit states that she “ is critically vulnerable to COVID-19 because of her weakened immune system , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ conditions of confinement at South Louisiana , including inadequate medical care.
” R.P.H .
has been detained since entering the United States at an official port of entry last July .
ICE has declined to release her on parole three times , and agents have told her she ’ ll only be allowed out if her cancer returns , according to the declaration .
“ Despite my medical history , I arrived at South Louisiana strong and in good health , ” she said .
“ I have been sick more times than @ @ @ @ @ @ @ facility.
” R.P.H .
described the sanitary conditions in her 50-person dorm as “ horrendous , ” explaining that there isn ’ t access to hand sanitizer , disinfectant wipes , masks , and gloves .
Social distancing is also impossible there .
In the declaration , R.P.H .
explained that women from another dorm at the facility have been moved into hers .
They were previously quarantined because of what other detainees have told me was an outbreak of the H1N1 flu .
Now that the once-quarantined dorm has moved , there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ If released , R.P.H plans to live with relatives in Florida who are US citizens , while fighting her case from outside detention .
Her declaration ends on an ominous note : “ I hope I live to see that day .
”

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Civil rights groups are suing the Trump administration to force it to release people from immigration jails as the coronavirus outbreak continues to spread across the country.
In an emergency motion filed on Tuesday, the Southern Poverty Law Center and American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana requested that a federal judge require Immigration and Customs Enforcement to release asylum seekers from detention centers in the Deep South if they don’t pose a threat to public safety or a flight risk.
Among the people identified in the lawsuit as particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 are a Cuban breast cancer survivor and a Venezuelan man who is HIV-positive. “Class members risked their lives to escape persecution and torture in their home countries,” the lawsuit states. “These asylum-seekers now find themselves trapped in what has essentially become a ticking-timebomb and, for many, a tomb.”
For weeks, health and corrections experts have called on ICE to release people from detention who don’t pose a threat to public safety. The agency has refused to do so. Instead, the number of people in its custody increased by more than 700 between March 14 and March 21, rising to more than 38,000 people in total. To date, ICE’s website listed four cases of detainees testing positive for COVID-19, but there are likely more people in its custody who’ve contracted the virus; the agency had only tested 25 people as of last Wednesday.
Tensions have been rising within detention centers as immigrants and asylum seekers fearful of being infected push for their release. Last week, there were several incidents in which detainees were pepper-sprayed at facilities owned by GEO Group, a for-profit private prison company that contracts with ICE. On Monday, guards used “pepper balls” against 23 detainees at GEO Group’s LaSalle ICE Processing Center, according to a government report obtained by BuzzFeed News. The San Antonio Express-News reported that the same day, about 60 people were pepper-sprayed at another GEO Group immigration detention center, this one in Texas, after they demanded to be released to protect them from the virus.
As I previously reported, on Tuesday guards pepper-sprayed at least seven men at GEO Group’s Pine Prairie, Louisiana, detention center, then transferred them to isolation cells. And I reported that the following day, officials at the LaSalle ICE Processing Center, also in Louisiana, pepper-sprayed women during a briefing on COVID-19. There were nearly 80 people in the room at the time. One of them told her lawyer that detention center staff left them locked up for about an hour as they screamed for help.
On Tuesday morning, Yoneli Figueredo-Pollato, a 34-year-old Cuban asylum seeker, called me to say he remains on a hunger strike that began after he was pepper-sprayed at Pine Prairie a week ago. After initially being sent to solitary confinement, he said he’d been transferred to the medical unit. When I asked in Spanish how he was feeling, he replied with one word: “Weak.”
The lawsuit could force the release of asylum seekers in the five states managed by ICE’s New Orleans field office: Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee. Most of those asylum seekers are in Louisiana, home to one of the nation’s worst COVID-19 outbreaks. On Saturday, Patrick Jones, who was serving a drug sentence at a prison in Oakdale, Louisiana, became the first person to die of COVID-19 in the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons. The Oakdale prison is next to the Oakdale immigration court and is about 20 minutes away from from GEO Group’s Pine Prairie detention center.
Asylum seekers are being indefinitely detained in Louisiana because ICE has refused to release them on parole so they can live with relatives or other sponsors. Monday’s emergency request for a preliminary injunction is part of ongoing litigation about parole denials before federal Judge James Boasberg. As I reported earlier this month:
Last year, the SPLC and the ACLU of Louisiana sued the Trump administration after it started ignoring ICE’s parole policy at a sixth field office in New Orleans. The office, which covers five southern states, had approved 75 percent of parole applications in 2016. By 2019, it was approving none. “Defendants offer absolutely no explanation for the precipitous nosedive in the parole-grant rates issued by an Office that has allegedly preserved the same underlying policy for making those decisions all along,” Boasberg ruled in a September decision that forces the New Orleans office to follow the parole policy.
In a declaration supporting the new request, R.P.H., a 50-year-old Cuban woman detained at a GEO Group facility in Basile, Louisiana, explained that she had a mastectomy and survived 16 cycles of radiation treatment before seeking asylum in the United States. The lawsuit states that she “is critically vulnerable to COVID-19 because of her weakened immune system, history of recurring cancer, and the conditions of confinement at South Louisiana, including inadequate medical care.”
R.P.H. has been detained since entering the United States at an official port of entry last July. ICE has declined to release her on parole three times, and agents have told her she’ll only be allowed out if her cancer returns, according to the declaration. “Despite my medical history, I arrived at South Louisiana strong and in good health,” she said. “I have been sick more times than I can keep track of in this facility.” R.P.H. described the sanitary conditions in her 50-person dorm as “horrendous,” explaining that there isn’t access to hand sanitizer, disinfectant wipes, masks, and gloves.
Social distancing is also impossible there. In the declaration, R.P.H. explained that women from another dorm at the facility have been moved into hers. They were previously quarantined because of what other detainees have told me was an outbreak of the H1N1 flu. Now that the once-quarantined dorm has moved, there are 72 people in one dorm.
If released, R.P.H plans to live with relatives in Florida who are US citizens, while fighting her case from outside detention. Her declaration ends on an ominous note: “I hope I live to see that day.”


motherjones--2020-04-01--Some Governors Have Risen to the Occasion During the Pandemic. These Republicans Aren’t Among Them.

As President Trump and his aides sat on their hands for much of March and misled the public about the scope of the coronavirus pandemic , governors of the hardest-hit states were winning bipartisan praise .
Joe Biden hailed Republicans Mike DeWine of Ohio and Charlie Baker of Massachusetts .
“ Help , I Think I ’ m in Love With Andrew Cuomo ?
?
?
” read a Jezebel headline , referring to the Democratic governor of New York whose Powerpoints ( “ reassuring and oddly endearing , ” according to this website ) have gripped the nation .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Jeb Bush ( a former governor himself ) hailed the “ competence ” and “ old-school , inspired leadership ” of the nation ’ s governors .
“ [ T ] he contagion , ” the New York Times reported , “ has elevated a class of veteran political leaders whom Republican voters bypassed in the 2016 presidential race and Democratic voters shrugged off in 2020.
” But the crisis has also spotlighted another class of chief executive , and the results have been less than stellar .
While some governors have risen @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the nation ’ s Trumpiest states have followed the president ’ s course .
These governors have been slow to respond to the threat , offered false bravado , and flailed desperately to pin the blame someplace else—usually , blue states .
My colleague Becca Andrews recently wrote about the situation in Tennessee , where the state department of health recommended nurses wear diapers on their faces if they run out of face masks , even as Republican Gov .
Bill Lee refused to issue a shelter-in-place order .
( The state @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but he still hasn ’ t ordered a lockdown . )
Trump isn ’ t failing alone ; a cohort of mini-Trumps is failing with him .
Some of these governors responded to the crisis with defiance—as if the virus were something that could be overcome through a show of community solidarity , rather than something that would use such displays to infect and kill .
The Atlantic recently published a story on the “ social-distancing culture war.
” Look no further than Oklahoma .
On March 14 , as cities across @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to combat the pandemic ’ s spread—and one week after the first positive COVID-19 test in his state— Oklahoma Gov .
Kevin Stitt ( an anti-vaxxer , by the way ) tweeted a photo of himself eating out with his family at a crowded restaurant in Oklahoma City .
The next day , he declared a state of emergency in Oklahoma—but continued to insist that eating out in these conditions was not just fine , but commendable .
“ The governor will continue to take his family out to dinner and to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ encourages Oklahomans to do the same , ” a spokesperson told CNN .
As of Tuesday , Oklahoma has had at least 481 coronavirus cases and 17 deaths .
Like Stitt , West Virginia Gov .
Jim Justice , a billionaire hotel owner and coal magnate , encouraged residents of his state to do exactly what public health experts said they should be steering clear of .
West Virginia was the last state to report any cases of COVID-19 , which President Trump attributed to Justice ’ s leadership .
But Justice himself @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of positive tests was really a reflection of the state ’ s inability to test widely , rather than any sort of preventative measures .
“ Let ’ s be real , it has to be here—we just haven ’ t found it yet , ” Justice said .
His advice ?
“ If you want to go to Bob Evans and eat , go to Bob Evans and eat , ” Justice said .
A few days later , West Virginia reported its first case—and Justice , belatedly , closed restaurants for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Florida Gov .
Ron DeSantis has taken increasingly stringent steps to restrict visitors to Florida .
Last Tuesday , he announced that anyone who had traveled to the state from the New York City area over the past three weeks would have to go through a 14-day quarantine—and would be subject to jail time if they didn ’ t comply .
On Friday , he extended the mandatory quarantine to visitors from Louisiana and implemented highway checkpoints on roads entering the state .
It was DeSantis ’ s complaining that prompted Trump to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and Connecticut under mandatory quarantine .
And DeSantis is trying to block “ foreigners ” from the cruise ship Zaandam being “ dumped ” on Florida—leaving 1,400 travelers temporarily adrift at sea .
But DeSantis for weeks resisted calls to close beaches in the state , keeping crowded tourist hubs open during spring break .
He allowed counties to keep their beaches open as late as last weekend .
His failure to act likely played a role in worsening the outbreak in the state , and perhaps even exporting the virus to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ number of cases in Florida more than doubled from Friday to Tuesday , up to 5,694 .
Only five states had more .
On Monday , DeSantis finally issued a stay-at-home order—but only for South Florida .
DeSantis said at the time that he was open to doing so—if Trump ’ s White House told him to .
( On Wednesday , he finally did—but left exemptions for religious services . )
In Texas , where the Republican lieutenant governor suggested it was worth reopening business even if senior citizens like himself had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ likewise imposed a mandatory two-week quarantine on travelers flying in from the tri-state area , Louisiana , and the cities of Miami , Atlanta , Chicago , and Detroit .
But the coronavirus is already in Texas , with more than 3,000 cases .
There are reported cases in half the state ’ s counties , and roughly 87 percent of Texans live in areas where a stay-in-place order is in effect—but those are all a result of county and municipal decisions .
He imposed a statewide stay-at-home order yesterday .
The ban @ @ @ @ @ @ @ services .
Justice , too , has gone after out-of-state travelers , instructing state police to check in on homes that have cars with license plates from the tri-state area or Louisiana—a move he acknowledged might not be constitutional .
In Texas and elsewhere , local authorities have tried to fill the vacuum left by state leaders , reprising familiar battles over local control .
As Ron Brownstein observed on CNN , red-state cities such as Birmingham , Atlanta , Nashville , and Phoenix have issued stay-at-home orders that go much further than @ @ @ @ @ @ @ governors .
( Arizona Republican Gov .
Doug Ducey , for instance , issued a statewide stay-in-place order but left an exception for golf courses . )
And sometimes the state governments have pushed back .
Greenville , South Carolina , announced late last week that it was reevaluating its stay-in-place orders after the state attorney general ruled it would have to instead comply with Gov .
Henry McMaster ’ s less-burdensome rules .
( South Carolina was up to 925 cases as of Tuesday . )
As the outbreak flared in nearby @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s numbers crept upward , Mississippi Gov .
Tate Reeves initially rejected calls to close beaches there—even after Florida and Alabama closed theirs—and balked at implementing a stay-in-place order .
“ Mississippi ’ s never going to be China , ” he said .
“ Mississippi ’ s never going to be North Korea.
” The sentiment was echoed elsewhere .
“ Y ’ all , we are not Louisiana , we are not New York State , we are not California , ” Alabama Gov .
Kay Ivey said on Thursday , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a shelter-in-place policy .
“ Right now is not the time to order people to shelter in place.
” To judge by the actions of people like Ivey and DeSantis—and for a long time , Trump—the coronavirus is a blue-state contagion , a problem for other people to deal with in places you don ’ t live , and conversely , a problem that won ’ t require the same solutions where you live because you ’ re not those places .
It ’ s a crisis that ’ s been bungled by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ snake ” Jay Inslee of Washington state ( “ a failed presidential candidate…a nasty person ” ) , and “ the woman in Michigan , ” Gov .
Gretchen Whitmer .
They ’ re both Democrats .
In this view of the world , cutting off travel and being stingy about tests and supplies is an appropriate political and logistical move that shifts blame and pain toward people who are politically expendable .
Of course , New York didn ’ t think it was New York either ; that ’ s why the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
That ’ s the point .
A prevailing theme of this pandemic has been that everyone thinks they ’ re special but no one actually is .
As China reeled , the federal government had months to learn and prepare .
Instead it just sort of…watched .
Then , as the first American cities struggled to deal with the early clusters in the United States , other cities and states had still more time to learn and prepare .
Instead , they kept the beaches and diners open , and watched .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ domino that thinks it won ’ t be the one to topple over , because it can ’ t see past what ’ s immediately in front of it .
By the time it feels like it ’ s time to act , it ’ s probably too late .
Partisan blinders and false assurances from the White House might have obscured the full scope of the threat for a spell , but contagions , it turns out , don ’ t care if you voted Republican or Democrat .

As President Trump and his aides sat on their hands for much of March and misled the public about the scope of the coronavirus pandemic, governors of the hardest-hit states were winning bipartisan praise. Joe Biden hailed Republicans Mike DeWine of Ohio and Charlie Baker of Massachusetts. “Help, I Think I’m in Love With Andrew Cuomo???” read a Jezebel headline, referring to the Democratic governor of New York whose Powerpoints (“reassuring and oddly endearing,” according to this website) have gripped the nation. Writing for the Wall Street Journal, Jeb Bush (a former governor himself) hailed the “competence” and “old-school, inspired leadership” of the nation’s governors. “[T]he contagion,” the New York Times reported, “has elevated a class of veteran political leaders whom Republican voters bypassed in the 2016 presidential race and Democratic voters shrugged off in 2020.”
But the crisis has also spotlighted another class of chief executive, and the results have been less than stellar. While some governors have risen to the occasion, Republicans in some of the nation’s Trumpiest states have followed the president’s course. These governors have been slow to respond to the threat, offered false bravado, and flailed desperately to pin the blame someplace else—usually, blue states. My colleague Becca Andrews recently wrote about the situation in Tennessee, where the state department of health recommended nurses wear diapers on their faces if they run out of face masks, even as Republican Gov. Bill Lee refused to issue a shelter-in-place order. (The state had more than 1,600 cases by Tuesday, but he still hasn’t ordered a lockdown.) Trump isn’t failing alone; a cohort of mini-Trumps is failing with him.
Some of these governors responded to the crisis with defiance—as if the virus were something that could be overcome through a show of community solidarity, rather than something that would use such displays to infect and kill. The Atlantic recently published a story on the “social-distancing culture war.” Look no further than Oklahoma. On March 14, as cities across the country were taking increasingly strict measures to combat the pandemic’s spread—and one week after the first positive COVID-19 test in his state— Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (an anti-vaxxer, by the way) tweeted a photo of himself eating out with his family at a crowded restaurant in Oklahoma City. The next day, he declared a state of emergency in Oklahoma—but continued to insist that eating out in these conditions was not just fine, but commendable. “The governor will continue to take his family out to dinner and to the grocery store without living in fear and encourages Oklahomans to do the same,” a spokesperson told CNN. As of Tuesday, Oklahoma has had at least 481 coronavirus cases and 17 deaths.
Like Stitt, West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice, a billionaire hotel owner and coal magnate, encouraged residents of his state to do exactly what public health experts said they should be steering clear of. West Virginia was the last state to report any cases of COVID-19, which President Trump attributed to Justice’s leadership. But Justice himself acknowledged on March 13 that the absence of positive tests was really a reflection of the state’s inability to test widely, rather than any sort of preventative measures. “Let’s be real, it has to be here—we just haven’t found it yet,” Justice said. His advice? “If you want to go to Bob Evans and eat, go to Bob Evans and eat,” Justice said. A few days later, West Virginia reported its first case—and Justice, belatedly, closed restaurants for dining.
Over the last week, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has taken increasingly stringent steps to restrict visitors to Florida. Last Tuesday, he announced that anyone who had traveled to the state from the New York City area over the past three weeks would have to go through a 14-day quarantine—and would be subject to jail time if they didn’t comply. On Friday, he extended the mandatory quarantine to visitors from Louisiana and implemented highway checkpoints on roads entering the state. It was DeSantis’s complaining that prompted Trump to consider placing New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut under mandatory quarantine. And DeSantis is trying to block “foreigners” from the cruise ship Zaandam being “dumped” on Florida—leaving 1,400 travelers temporarily adrift at sea.
(Update: DeSantis announced Wednesday that he’d allow Floridians—but only Floridians—to leave the ship.)
DeSantis: We will accept any Floridians on board cruise ships pic.twitter.com/GSpi8aouCM — WSVN 7 News (@wsvn) April 1, 2020
But DeSantis for weeks resisted calls to close beaches in the state, keeping crowded tourist hubs open during spring break. He allowed counties to keep their beaches open as late as last weekend. His failure to act likely played a role in worsening the outbreak in the state, and perhaps even exporting the virus to other parts of the country.
This shows the location data of phones that were on a Florida beach during Spring Break. It then shows where those phones traveled. First thing you should note is the importance of social distancing. The second is how much data your phone gives off. pic.twitter.com/iokUX3qjeB — Mikael Thalen (@MikaelThalen) March 26, 2020
The number of cases in Florida more than doubled from Friday to Tuesday, up to 5,694. Only five states had more. On Monday, DeSantis finally issued a stay-at-home order—but only for South Florida. DeSantis said at the time that he was open to doing so—if Trump’s White House told him to. (On Wednesday, he finally did—but left exemptions for religious services.)
In Texas, where the Republican lieutenant governor suggested it was worth reopening business even if senior citizens like himself had to die, Gov. Greg Abbott likewise imposed a mandatory two-week quarantine on travelers flying in from the tri-state area, Louisiana, and the cities of Miami, Atlanta, Chicago, and Detroit. But the coronavirus is already in Texas, with more than 3,000 cases. There are reported cases in half the state’s counties, and roughly 87 percent of Texans live in areas where a stay-in-place order is in effect—but those are all a result of county and municipal decisions. He imposed a statewide stay-at-home order yesterday. The ban, though, makes exceptions for church services. Justice, too, has gone after out-of-state travelers, instructing state police to check in on homes that have cars with license plates from the tri-state area or Louisiana—a move he acknowledged might not be constitutional.
(Sending the police after visitors is not a strictly partisan phenomenon; Democratic Gov. Gina Raimondo of Rhode Island also instructed her state’s police force to enforce quarantines on tri-state drivers, though Rhode Island, at least, neighbors those states and has a more specific problem of city residents relocating to vacation homes there.)
In Texas and elsewhere, local authorities have tried to fill the vacuum left by state leaders, reprising familiar battles over local control. As Ron Brownstein observed on CNN, red-state cities such as Birmingham, Atlanta, Nashville, and Phoenix have issued stay-at-home orders that go much further than the guidelines pushed by their states’ governors. (Arizona Republican Gov. Doug Ducey, for instance, issued a statewide stay-in-place order but left an exception for golf courses.) And sometimes the state governments have pushed back. Greenville, South Carolina, announced late last week that it was reevaluating its stay-in-place orders after the state attorney general ruled it would have to instead comply with Gov. Henry McMaster’s less-burdensome rules. (South Carolina was up to 925 cases as of Tuesday.)
As the outbreak flared in nearby New Orleans and his own state’s numbers crept upward, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves initially rejected calls to close beaches there—even after Florida and Alabama closed theirs—and balked at implementing a stay-in-place order.
“Mississippi’s never going to be China,” he said. “Mississippi’s never going to be North Korea.”
The sentiment was echoed elsewhere. “Y’all, we are not Louisiana, we are not New York State, we are not California,” Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey said on Thursday, when asked if the state would adopt a shelter-in-place policy. “Right now is not the time to order people to shelter in place.”
To judge by the actions of people like Ivey and DeSantis—and for a long time, Trump—the coronavirus is a blue-state contagion, a problem for other people to deal with in places you don’t live, and conversely, a problem that won’t require the same solutions where you live because you’re not those places. It’s a crisis that’s been bungled by, according to Trump, the “snake” Jay Inslee of Washington state (“a failed presidential candidate…a nasty person”), and “the woman in Michigan,” Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. They’re both Democrats. In this view of the world, cutting off travel and being stingy about tests and supplies is an appropriate political and logistical move that shifts blame and pain toward people who are politically expendable.
Of course, New York didn’t think it was New York either; that’s why the outbreak is as bad as it is. That’s the point. A prevailing theme of this pandemic has been that everyone thinks they’re special but no one actually is. As China reeled, the federal government had months to learn and prepare. Instead it just sort of…watched. Then, as the first American cities struggled to deal with the early clusters in the United States, other cities and states had still more time to learn and prepare. Instead, they kept the beaches and diners open, and watched. Each of these states is like a domino that thinks it won’t be the one to topple over, because it can’t see past what’s immediately in front of it. By the time it feels like it’s time to act, it’s probably too late.
Partisan blinders and false assurances from the White House might have obscured the full scope of the threat for a spell, but contagions, it turns out, don’t care if you voted Republican or Democrat.


motherjones--2020-04-01--I Recovered From COVID-19. But I Can’t Donate My Plasma Because I’m Gay.

One thing that allowed me to hope over these last two weeks , as COVID-19 made me cough , sweat , ache , and succumb to mind-muddying fatigue , was the thought that one day soon , I could help others to recover .
I read about promising new treatment trials using the blood from survivors in the epicenter , New York City , where I live .
I imagined my plasma , featuring its all-star cast of virus-kicking antibodies , being infused into the sick and dying .
My hard-won immunity could buy them critical time ; if such @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lives .
“ Survivors : they ’ re such an interesting population , every outbreak , because they are a ray of hope , ” Dr. Nahid Bhadelia told me between her frantic work as the medical director of the Special Pathogens Unit at Boston Medical Center .
“ They represent ‘ we ’ re going to get to the other side of an outbreak . '
” “ They are sort of a marker for success , ” she said .
“ It means that maybe we ’ ll have a growing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and restart society.
” So I signed up for one of the most prominent trials at Mount Sinai Hospital ; I filled out my symptom and testing history for the National COVID-19 Convalescent Plasma Project ( administered by a consortium of top research institutions including Johns Hopkins University ) , and hit send on a Columbia University recruitment webform .
Recovery could provide a “ new passport ” to a world in which I could help , a friend suggested .
“ Your time is now.
” Listen to James West describe his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ treatments in the fight against COVID-19 , on this episode of the Mother Jones Podcast : Plasma is “ essentially the liquid part of your blood , ” sans cells and platelets , and where my protein army of antibodies reside , said Shane Crotty , a professor at the Center for Infectious Disease and Vaccine Research at La Jolla Institute for Immunology in San Diego .
When I told him about my COVID-19 recovery , he was excited : “ Absolutely , if there is a plasma therapy trial going on near @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he told me , after describing how the process is “ based on over 120 years of medical experience.
” ( “ Convalescent ” plasma is what researchers are seeking here , meaning it ’ s harvested from recovered patients , like me . )
“ It ’ s important that proper clinical trials put it to the test , ” he said .
“ But in general , in the past , plasma therapies have been quite , quite safe.
” Other experts were equally enthused .
There ’ s “ no @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an immunity specialist at NYU School of Medicine , that “ taking your plasma from your serum and transferring it , which is called passive immunization , is helping.
” That ’ s because it appears that the virus that sickened me and hundreds of thousands of others around the world prompts the body to produce “ protective immunity ” : My body will remember how COVID-19 launched its attack , and , now in possession of a refreshed game plan , can recall and remount the same defense in the future .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ how long any potential immunity could last , measured from weeks to a year , or even a lifetime .
So that ’ s what my immunity does for me .
But my antibodies might also provide an “ immune blanket on top of somebody else ’ s immune system that potentially covers and fights the virus for them , ” Bhadelia , the Boston physician , told me .
According to the National COVID-19 Convalescent Plasma Project , “ Small studies without control groups in China during the recent outbreak of COVID-19 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” “ So that makes me really happy , ” Khanna said .
“ All of the individuals who ’ ve been infected could be valuable resource for science as well as society.
” Of course , we just don ’ t know for sure if transfusions from COVID-19 survivors work at scale until we try .
“ In some infectious diseases , it ’ s worked out and shown efficacy , ” Bhadelia said .
“ In others , early on , it showed efficacy , but then when you actually have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t as much efficacy.
” “ It is therefore important to determine through clinical trials , ” warns the Federal Drug Agency , “ before routinely administering convalescent plasma to patients with COVID-19 , that it is safe and effective to do so.
” And that ’ s what the agency is doing by approving these clinical trials .
A chance to help literally the entire world find a cure ?
Sign me up !
But now , fully recovered , I ’ ve run into a roadblock that I ’ ve encountered @ @ @ @ @ @ @ my blood ( and therefore my plasma ) because , using the FDA ’ s regulatory parlance , I ’ m a man who has had sex with a man in the last 12 months .
The FDA blood bank guidelines are in place to reduce the risk of HIV transmissions resulting from blood transfusions , because gay and bisexual men in the US have a higher risk of getting this disease from sex .
Until 2015 , the FDA enforced a lifetime ban on gay men giving blood .
It then decided @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had sex in over a year to donate .
The agency ’ s reasoning is that it takes time to detect recent infections of those diseases .
But the yearlong window remains a sore point for gay rights .
The guidance pays no heed to whether you ’ re in a monogamous sexual relationship , or Tinder-hopping , while screening for viruses has become much quicker and more precise .
In the two years after the UK narrowed its abstinence window in 2017 to three months , there was no reported rise in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a three-month model in June , 2019 .
Other developed countries observe four-month windows .
On Monday , a spokesperson for the American Red Cross confirmed that “ to participate in FDA ’ s new convalescent plasma program , individuals must meet all standard blood donation requirements as well as others.
” The FDA told me in an emailed statement that it has no current plans to change that guidance in the face of the new crisis , but is “ actively considering the situation as the outbreak progresses.
” “ Standard blood @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” confirmed Jeffrey P. Henderson , a physician and microbiologist at Washington University School of Medicine , St. Louis , who has teamed up with top medical researchers at Johns Hopkins and the Mayo Clinic to lead one of the big coordinated studies .
( The team at Mount Sinai were not able to provide a comment by deadline . )
“ I have quite a few gay friends who are recovering from COVID-19 right now , so the group is quickly expanding , ” said Peter Staley , the veteran AIDS @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and regulatory barriers for early drugs to fight HIV .
“ The fact that you are being blocked from helping in a incredibly positive way to save lives , this is just utter craziness , and for me , as a long-term AIDS activist , it just makes me want to scream , because folks may not realize this , but a lot of what AIDS activists helped build is now being used to fight COVID.
” The number of recovered gay and bisexual men will also undoubtedly grow , as the virus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ country , like New York City .
“ To say ‘ no , thank you ’ to this community , when we want to individually help to save lives , something ’ s really wrong with that , ” he said .
“ It triggers all the feelings we felt during the early years of the AIDS crisis.
” For its part , the Red Cross would like to move to different standards than who you sleep with to determine who can give blood and when .
“ We are committed to working @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spokesperson , Greta Gustafson , told me .
But until the FDA changes its rules , its hands are tied .
Could one infectious disease crisis finally wipe away some of the stigma that attached to another ?
The new coronavirus has been “ an equal opportunity infector of everybody , ” Bhadelia told me , and is unlikely to “ somehow stigmatize certain population or a subset of the population ” like many diseases that have come before and will come again .
If the FDA changes the rules for COVID-19 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be the next in line to join the fight against this indiscriminate disease , alongside all my fellow survivors .

Update: The day after I wrote about how the FDA’s outdated regulations were keeping blood and plasma donors like me from joining the fight against COVID-19, the agency eased its rules.
One thing that allowed me to hope over these last two weeks, as COVID-19 made me cough, sweat, ache, and succumb to mind-muddying fatigue, was the thought that one day soon, I could help others to recover. I read about promising new treatment trials using the blood from survivors in the epicenter, New York City, where I live. I imagined my plasma, featuring its all-star cast of virus-kicking antibodies, being infused into the sick and dying. My hard-won immunity could buy them critical time; if such trials were successful they could save countless lives.
“Survivors: they’re such an interesting population, every outbreak, because they are a ray of hope,” Dr. Nahid Bhadelia told me between her frantic work as the medical director of the Special Pathogens Unit at Boston Medical Center. “They represent ‘we’re going to get to the other side of an outbreak.'”
“They are sort of a marker for success,” she said. “It means that maybe we’ll have a growing community of immune people who can recharge and restart society.”
I wanted to enlist.
So I signed up for one of the most prominent trials at Mount Sinai Hospital; I filled out my symptom and testing history for the National COVID-19 Convalescent Plasma Project (administered by a consortium of top research institutions including Johns Hopkins University), and hit send on a Columbia University recruitment webform. Recovery could provide a “new passport” to a world in which I could help, a friend suggested. “Your time is now.”
Listen to James West describe his journey to recovery, and promising new treatments in the fight against COVID-19, on this episode of the Mother Jones Podcast:
Listen to the latest episode of the Mother Jones Podcast: Subscribe using Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app.
Plasma is “essentially the liquid part of your blood,” sans cells and platelets, and where my protein army of antibodies resides, said Shane Crotty, a professor at the Center for Infectious Disease and Vaccine Research at La Jolla Institute for Immunology in San Diego. When I told him about my COVID-19 recovery, he was excited: “Absolutely, if there is a plasma therapy trial going on near you, go and volunteer,” he told me, after describing how the process is “based on over 120 years of medical experience.” (“Convalescent” plasma is what researchers are seeking here, meaning it’s harvested from recovered patients, like me.)
“It’s important that proper clinical trials put it to the test,” he said. “But in general, in the past, plasma therapies have been quite, quite safe.”
Other experts were equally enthused. There’s “no doubt,” said Kamal Khanna, an immunity specialist at NYU School of Medicine, that “taking your plasma from your serum and transferring it, which is called passive immunization, is helping.”
My antibodies might also provide an “immune blanket on top of somebody else’s immune system that potentially covers and fights the virus for them.”
That’s because it appears that the virus that sickened me and hundreds of thousands of others around the world prompts the body to produce “protective immunity”: My body will remember how COVID-19 launched its attack, and, now in possession of a refreshed game plan, can recall and remount the same defense in the future. Scientists are still trying to understand just how long any potential immunity could last, measured from weeks to a year, or even a lifetime.
So that’s what my immunity does for me. But my antibodies might also provide an “immune blanket on top of somebody else’s immune system that potentially covers and fights the virus for them,” Bhadelia, the Boston physician, told me. According to the National COVID-19 Convalescent Plasma Project, “Small studies without control groups in China during the recent outbreak of COVID-19 there suggest that convalescent plasma improved outcomes.”
“So that makes me really happy,” Khanna said. “All of the individuals who’ve been infected could be valuable resource for science as well as society.”
Of course, we just don’t know for sure if transfusions from COVID-19 survivors work at scale until we try. “In some infectious diseases, it’s worked out and shown efficacy,” Bhadelia said. “In others, early on, it showed efficacy, but then when you actually have a big trial, there isn’t as much efficacy.”
“All of the individuals who’ve been infected could be valuable resource for science as well as society.”
“It is therefore important to determine through clinical trials,” warns the Federal Drug Agency, “before routinely administering convalescent plasma to patients with COVID-19, that it is safe and effective to do so.” And that’s what the agency is doing by approving these clinical trials.
A chance to help literally the entire world find a cure? Sign me up!
But now, fully recovered, I’ve run into a roadblock that I’ve encountered before: I can’t donate my blood (and therefore my plasma) because, using the FDA’s regulatory parlance, I’m a man who has had sex with a man in the last 12 months.
The FDA blood bank guidelines are in place to reduce the risk of HIV transmissions resulting from blood transfusions, because gay and bisexual men in the US have a higher risk of getting this disease from sex. Until 2015, the FDA enforced a lifetime ban on gay men giving blood. It then decided to allow those who haven’t had sex in over a year to donate. The agency’s reasoning is that it takes time to detect recent infections of those diseases. But the yearlong window remains a sore point for gay rights. The guidance pays no heed to whether you’re in a monogamous sexual relationship, or Tinder-hopping, while screening for viruses has become much quicker and more precise. In the two years after the UK narrowed its abstinence window in 2017 to three months, there was no reported rise in contaminated blood supply. Canada moved to a three-month model in June, 2019. Other developed countries observe four-month windows.
On Monday, a spokesperson for the American Red Cross confirmed that “to participate in FDA’s new convalescent plasma program, individuals must meet all standard blood donation requirements as well as others.” The FDA told me in an emailed statement that it has no current plans to change that guidance in the face of the new crisis, but is “actively considering the situation as the outbreak progresses.”
“Standard blood donation rules will apply for this study,” confirmed Jeffrey P. Henderson, a physician and microbiologist at Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, who has teamed up with top medical researchers at Johns Hopkins and the Mayo Clinic to lead one of the big coordinated studies. (The team at Mount Sinai were not able to provide a comment by deadline.)
“I have quite a few gay friends who are recovering from COVID-19 right now, so the group is quickly expanding,” said Peter Staley, the veteran AIDS activist whose groundbreaking work helped erode medical and regulatory barriers for early drugs to fight HIV. “The fact that you are being blocked from helping in a incredibly positive way to save lives, this is just utter craziness, and for me, as a long-term AIDS activist, it just makes me want to scream, because folks may not realize this, but a lot of what AIDS activists helped build is now being used to fight COVID.”
“For me, as a long-term AIDS activist, it just makes me want to scream.”
The number of recovered gay and bisexual men will also undoubtedly grow, as the virus strikes big LGBTQ population centers around the country, like New York City. “To say ‘no, thank you’ to this community, when we want to individually help to save lives, something’s really wrong with that,” he said. “It triggers all the feelings we felt during the early years of the AIDS crisis.”
For its part, the Red Cross would like to move to different standards than who you sleep with to determine who can give blood and when. “We are committed to working toward achieving this goal,” the spokesperson, Greta Gustafson, told me. But until the FDA changes its rules, its hands are tied.
Could one infectious disease crisis finally wipe away some of the stigma that attached to another?
The new coronavirus has been “an equal opportunity infector of everybody,” Bhadelia told me, and is unlikely to “somehow stigmatize a certain population or a subset of the population” like many diseases that have come before and will come again. If the FDA changes the rules for COVID-19, me and my gay battle-ready blood will be the next in line to join the fight against this indiscriminate disease, alongside all my fellow survivors.