Expedited bail proceedings granted to immigrants at ICE detention facility in Conroe

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https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/crime/article/expedited-bail-proceedings-conroe-immigration-ice-15590822.php

Expedited bail proceedings granted to immigrants at ICE detention facility in Conroe

Olivia P. Tallet
Sep. 23, 2020 Updated: Sep. 23, 2020 10:09 a.m.

A federal judge on Tuesday granted a motion ordering expedited bail proceedings for a group of immigrants detained at the Montgomery Processing Center in Conroe, agreeing that they are at high risk from exposure to COVID-19.

The order is in response to a lawsuit filed in April by eight immigrants detained in the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility who said

staying there under current pandemic conditions makes them particularly vulnerable to unnecessary risks of contracting serious illness and death from the virus due to their underlying medical conditions and age.

Judge Keith P. Ellison of the U.S. Southern District Court of Texas ordered expedited individual bail hearings for plaintiffs who have medical conditions recognized as risk factors for COVID-19 and who do not have a violent and felony criminal history. Bail would allow them to stay in the country legally while following their requests for refuge or asylum in court. The order mentioned several methods by which authorities could monitor immigrants without having to keep them in detention under pandemic risks.