Undocumented Immigrants in French Detention Center Fear COVID-19 Exposure, Launch Hunger Strike

There are about thirty undocumented immigrants staying in the almost empty CRA, reports Le Parisien. According to the same source, they have started a hunger strike to alert public opinion to their sanitary conditions. "There are people coughing. No one has masks, gloves, hand sanitizer. Not even the police," says Symphorien, a 51-year-old Congolese, arrested at Roissy airport. These undocumented immigrants only want one thing: to be released.

According to Cimade, there are still new arrivals in this center. "These are almost exclusively people coming out of prison, who remain under the threat of the same health risks as the rest of the population. Not enough soap either; they can’t wash their hands regularly," says this association, which has only been providing telephone assistance since the outbreak of the global health crisis.

According to the association, some have been there since January. "Yet, detention can only be possible if the prospect of deportation is in the short term, denounces Cimade. They are left in detention when there is little likelihood that they will be deported, since Orly is closed and traffic at Roissy is declining sharply".