What is happening now?
HDQ Neutral and the Adelanto Case Study
On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic (World Health Organization, 2020). Huge changes to daily life ensued for all: mask wearing, hand washing, to name a few. Many people feared for their safety and took steps to protect themselves, reducing the number of people they see and practicing social distancing, myself included. Yet for those kept in the custody of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the basic precautions to protect themselves was an unattainable luxury. People who are incarcerated in the United States, whether this is in an ICE Detention Facility or prison, are unable to take steps to protect themselves from this pandemic because their rights and self-determination have been stripped from them. Though many ICE Detention Facilities did little to prevent the spread of COVID-19, in the Adelanto Processing Center measures to stop the spread of COVID-19 went to a horrifying extreme.
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In Spring of 2020, human rights organizations, such as the ACLU, began receiving disturbing reports from Detainees in the Adelanto Facility (Roman v. Wolf, 2020). Detainees reported a lack of access to PPE and the inability to social distance (Roman v. Wolf, 2020). The Adelanto Facility did not provide its Detainees with access to masks, gloves, or hand-sanitizer (Roman v. Wolf, 2020). The Facility was not requiring its officers and employees to have temperature checks upon coming to work as well (Roman v. Wolf, 2020). Additionally, due to the way the facility was constructed, Detainees were unable to social-distance (Roman v. Wolf, 2020). Though this seems unsafe, this is not the most troubling part of the actions of the Adelanto Facility. On top of the lack of safety processions, Detainees reported being sprayed down with a mysterious chemical that caused some to start coughing up blood (Lopez, 2020). Detainees reported skin irritation, nose bleeds, coughing, and nausea after being sprayed (Lopez, 2020). According to one inmate,
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This chemical was identified as HDQ Neutral (Lopez). Instead of providing even the bare minimum of COVID-19 prevention measures, ICE decided to spray its Detainees with HDQ Neutral.
The guards have started spraying this chemical everywhere, all the time. It causes a terrible reaction on our skin. When I blow my nose, blood comes out. They are treating us like animals. One person fainted and was taken out, I don't know what happened to them. There is no fresh air.
March 11, 2020
The World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic.
april 2020
Roman vs. Wolf is filed by organizations such as the ACLU
September 2020
The Adelanto Facility is still not following court orders in the original Roman vs. Wolf case.
HDQ Neutral is a relatively common disinfectant that is effective in killing most viruses, bacteria, and fungi, but it is also toxic (Spartan Chemical Company, 2020). According to the company that produces the chemical, Spartan Chemical Company, people should not come into direct contact with HDQ Neutral (Spartan Chemical Company, 2020). Protective gloves, eye and face protection, and protective clothing. should be worn while handling HDQ Neutral (Spartan Chemical Company, 2020). If one does come in contact of any kind with the chemical, the Spartan Chemical Company advises to call Poison Control and a physician immediately (Spartan Chemical Company, 2020). Furthermore, The Environmental Protection Agency advises to avoid coming into contact with this chemical at all due to its toxicity (Spartan Chemical Company (2), 2020). Evidently, the Adelanto facility was not abiding by the safety protocol established by the manufacturers of this product and therefore abused it and the facility’s Detainees.
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Clearly established in the safety protocols and by other American governmental agencies, HDQ Neutral is a toxic substance. Numerous animal studies also demonstrate its toxicity. In a 2016 study, scientists found that the main ingredient in HDQ Neutral, didecyl dimethyl ammonium chloride (DDAC), caused skin reactions in mice, including irritation and prolonged sensitivity (Anderson, 2016). Additionally, another study found that this same chemical, DDAC, caused significant lung damage during animal studies with mice (Ohnuma, 2010). Ohnuma et al. found that DDAC causes large amounts of damage to the lungs, including inflammation, fibrosis (long-term lung damage), and cell death (Ohnuma, 2010). On top of just the damage to health HDQ Neutral can cause, this is additionally troubling since poor lung health is a risk factor for COVID-19 (The Center for Disease Control, 2020). According to the CDC, having damaged lung or pulmonary fibrosis seems likely to increase risk of severe illness if COVID-19 is contracted (The Center for Disease Control, 2020). The use of HDQ Neutral is evidently hazardous and therefore unethical and unnecessary. By using HDQ Neutral, a clearly toxic substance, on the people in its custody, the Adelanto Facilities show a complete disregard for human rights.
Upon hearing of the use of this chemical, ACLU filed a class action lawsuit against ICE in regards to the conditions of Detainees in the Adelanto Facility: Roman v. Wolf (Roman v. Wolf, 2020). In this lawsuit, the plaintiffs argue that the Adelanto Facility was failing to keep those in its custody safe during the Covid-19 pandemic, by failing to provide personal protective equipment and space for social distancing as well as using HDQ Neutral on COVID-19 (Roman v. Wolf, 2020). Additionally, the plaintiffs assert that the health of those being detained by ICE is the responsibility of the United States government, since they are in its custody (Roman v. Wolf, 2020). After a ruling in April 2020, a judge decided that the Adelanto Facility was indeed in the wrong. In the ruling, the court decided that the Adelanto Facility was not to accept any new inmates and should immediately begin to reduce its population (Roman v. Wolf, 2020). The facility was given until May 4th, 2020 to do this, but the Adelanto Facility did not comply and received a second injunction in September of 2020 (Roman v. Wolf, 2020). The judge of this second case decreed that the government was failing these people and acting irresponsibly since so little is known about COVID-19 (Roman v. Wolf, 2020). Though the court did choose to act and issued orders for Adelanto to cease its action, it was not enough. The Facility continued its inhumane treatment of those in its custody with little to no repercussion. This story fits into a greater context of mistreatment and abuse faced by People of Color in the United States. No regard is given to the safety and wellbeing of the people kept in this facility.
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How does this connect to the broader context of racism and oppression in American History?
The Adelanto Detention Facility is just one of 200 ICE Detention Centers in the United States (Detention Watch Network, 2020). This is just one example of how ICE abuses those in its custody. Due to the lack of oversight and transparency in this government organization, not every case will be caught and dealt with as this one was. To ensure these abuses stop, ICE must be abolished and United States immigration policy must be updated to protect basic human rights for all.