A federal court ordered a man released from ICE custody at the Kankakee County Jail late last night. The action follows a lawsuit filed late last week.   

Joaquin Herrera –Herrera, a 60-year-old man detained at the Jerome Combs Detention Center (JCDC) in Kankakee since February, has been diagnosed with health conditions that make him vulnerable to serious complications – and even death – from COVID-19. Mr. Herrera-Herrera has lived in the United States since his was 6 years old, and has raised 3 children.  

He has been diagnosed with hypertension and is a survivor of prostate cancer.   

Reacting to the news of the release of Mr. Herrera-Herrera, Nusrat Jahan Choudhury, legal director for the ACLU of Illinois, issued the following statement: 

“Mr. Herrera-Herrera was frightened each day he was held in the Kankakee County Jail. He was afraid of being infected with coronavirus, and afraid of becoming very sick and dying from COVID-19. His continued detention by ICE needlessly endangered his life, and it is good that he is being released. Detention centers are known amplifiers of COVID-19, and threaten to harm not only detained people, but also staff and surrounding communities. Many other medically vulnerable people remain in Illinois’ ICE facilities fearing they will be the next victim of COVID. We will continue to work for the release of others who face these terrifying conditions.”