"We feel forgotten": Detainees face horrid carceral conditions amid COVID-19

As the coronavirus continues to rip across the U.S., prisoners nationwide have been staging protests and speaking out about their conditions to reporters like The Intercept's Ryan Devereaux, who reported on how ICE detainee Carlos Ernesto Escobar Mejia suffered horrifying neglect in San Diego's Otay Mesa Detention Center before passing away earlier this month. Calls are mounting for ICE to release people from detention during the pandemic. "The population that we are talking about are folks being held on civil immigration violations — they're not being held for violating criminal law. They're not serving criminal sentences," says Devereaux. "The government could release these people at any time if it wanted to. It is choosing to continue to hold tens of thousands of people in jails." #DemocracyNow Democracy Now! is an independent global news hour that airs on nearly 1,400 TV and radio stations Monday through Friday. Watch our livestream 8-9AM ET: https://democracynow.org Please consider supporting independent media by making a donation to Democracy Now! today: https://democracynow.org/donate FOLLOW DEMOCRACY NOW! ONLINE: YouTube:    / democracynow   Facebook:   / democracynow   Twitter:   / democracynow   Instagram:   / democracynow   SoundCloud:   / democracynow   iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/podcast/demo... Daily Email Digest: https://democracynow.org/subscribe