Federal judge Dolly Gee Friday ordered the release of children from the nation’s three family detention centers, two in Texas and one in Pennsylvania, reports Yahoo.
The order applies to all children who have been held more than 20 days, citing concerns about the coronavirus.
“The family residential centers are on fire, and there is no more time for half measures,” she said in her order. “The court is not surprised that COVID-19 has arrived.” She also ordered ICE to follow social distancing guidelines and require masks and testing.
According to the NY Times, President Obama appointed Gee to the federal bench in 2009. She is the daughter of an immigrant Chinese mother who worked as a garment worker and a father who became an aerospace engineer.
In previous legal opinions, she had called the treatment of immigrant children in detention centers “deplorable.”
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Before joining the bench, Gee, 58, worked as a labor attorney. She graduated from UCLA School of Law.
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