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August 19, 2020

Coronavirus Death Toll from U.S. Prisons and Jails Tops 1,000
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The New York Times reports the number of known deaths from COVID-19 at
U.S. prisons and jails has topped 1,000. In Arizona, a group of Cuban
asylum seekers at the for-profit La Palma Correctional Facility sent a
disturbing letter to immigration advocates, accusing guards of covering
up a surge of COVID-19 cases and failing to protect prisoners from the
spread of the disease. The prisoners also describe at least nine suicide
attempts by asylum seekers who grew desperate after 97% of asylum claims
were rejected by an immigration judge.


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