COVID in North Carolina Jails
Felicia Arriaga, Appalachian State University
Beginning in the spring of 2020, our research team (Dr. Dana Rice, Stefania Arteaga, Anna Biache, Alice Li, Jessie Rios, and Max Rose) began requesting information from Sheriff Offices across North Carolina regarding their responses to COVID-19. In these requests, we wanted to collect the following information that is not readily available (the case in most states, not just during COVID-19): (1) Pre-COVD Population; (2) Current Population; (3) Health & Safety Protocols (4) Decarceration Efforts/Jail Population Decrease Efforts; (5) COVID-19 Testing & Results In the first round of data collection, approximately half of the 98 jails/Sheriff Offices in the state responded to our inquiries and in the second round, a similar amount responded. Phase 3 of our data collection will include interviews with stakeholders in a sample of counties to better understand their protocols, attempts to stop COVID-19 outbreaks, and vaccination plans.
Women, Deportation, and Violence in Lockdown NYC
Yolanda Ortiz-Rodriguez, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY
Amid growing concerns of the pandemic and the forced lockdown experienced by many, the impact the new mandates would have on the victims of domestic violence- particularly, undocumented women, was important to explore. During the months following the lockdown in NYC, interviews with research participants, domestic violence organization leaders, and advocates provided insights on how the women were navigating services and how fears of deportation impacted the decisions they made around their safety and that of their families during the pandemic.
Migrant Detention, Deportation, and COVID in New Jersey
Sarah Tosh, Rutgers University-Camden
Ulla Berg, Rutgers University-New Brunswick
K. Sebastian León, Rutgers University-New Brunswick
This research examines the relationship between COVID-19 and processes of migrant detention and deportation, through a case study of the early pandemic response in four detention centers in New Jersey — where non-citizens who face deportation in New York City immigration courts are often held. Drawing on publicly available reports and in-depth interviews with wardens, immigration lawyers, advocates, and previously detained individuals, we examine the role of immigration detention in the attempted containment of COVID-19, and the effects of the pandemic response on detained migrants.