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A private prisons giant will face trial over the COVID-related death of a vulnerable dad held by ICE after a judge found that symptomatic staff came into his detention center 47 times.
Martin Vargas Arellano, 55, died in March 2021 after falling ill with the virus while being held at the GEO Group-run Adelanto ICE Processing Center in California, around 85 miles northeast of Los Angeles.
Court documents reviewed by PunchUp show Vargas Arellano—who suffered from diabetes, liver disease, high blood pressure, cellulitis and a severe psychiatric illness—had repeatedly asked to be released as COVID spread, citing his medical vulnerability.
Despite those risks, GEO Group allowed symptomatic staff into the detention center at least 47 times, according to facts the court said were undisputed.
After contracting the disease, Vargas Arellano developed pneumonia and was hospitalized. He later fell, underwent brain surgery, and suffered a stroke that left him brain-dead and comatose.
ICE formally released him from custody on March 5, 2021, while he remained in that condition. He died three days later. According to previous federal court records, his family and immigration lawyer were not informed of the release.
In a wrongful-death and negligence case brought by his son, Martin Vargas, Trump-appointed Judge John W. Holcomb found there was sufficient evidence from which a reasonable jury could find GEO Group’s actions were a “substantial factor” in Vargas Arellano’s injury.
Holcomb denied GEO Group’s bid to end the case before trial. A jury will now decide the case.
“GEO will be held accountable for its failure to follow federal detention standards that require the protection of vulnerable detainees,” said the family’s attorney, Stacy Tolchin, of the National Immigration Project. “This case sets a precedent for future actions against private prison companies who believe they can profit from mass detention while violating basic human rights.”
GEO Group is contracted by ICE to provide housing, guards and escorts at Adelanto, as well as medical services through a subcontractor. Under its contract, it was required to follow ICE pandemic rules and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance. That included screening for COVID every staff member entering the facility.
Workers displaying or reporting symptoms were supposed to be refused entry, while staff who had been exposed to COVID but showed no symptoms were permitted inside only if their presence was necessary to keep critical infrastructure operating.
The court found that shortly before Vargas Arellano became infected, he had been near numerous GEO Group employees and subcontractors, some of whom showed COVID symptoms or would later test positive.
While GEO Group disputes the precise nature of those interactions, the two sides agree that symptomatic or COVID-positive employees and subcontractors worked at facilities where Vargas Arellano was being held.
GEO Group argued that Vargas could not prove its conduct caused his father’s illness and death and claimed Vargas Arellano’s stroke was “inevitable.” It sought immunity under a federal law protecting certain pandemic-related medical decisions.
Holcomb rejected the motion to dismiss, ruling that causation disputes must be decided at trial. The judge also allowed Vargas to continue seeking punitive damages and pursue his wrongful-death claim.
Holcomb stopped short of finding GEO Group negligent. He ruled that the company owed Arellano a duty of care while he was detained but said whether it breached that duty would be a question for the jury.
Vargas Arellano’s family has now waited more than five years for the case to reach that point. “Mr. Vargas Arellano asked to be released from Adelanto because he knew what the virus would do to someone with his health,” Khaled Alrabe, a senior staff attorney at the National Immigration Project, said. “Sick staff kept walking through the door anyway.”
PunchUp has contacted GEO Group and ICE for comment.
The greed of these people is criminal and that includes the government employees! Our employees that as their bosses we need to take everyone of these private prison companies to task! They work for us and are committing homicide at an alarming rate, one homicide would be too many by any government contractor but this is well past that! It's so bad they've changed policies so they stop counting deaths that happen within 18 days of release so now they can put someone in a coma immediately release them to a hospital and when they inevitably die in the hospital the private prisons don't count those deaths. We need accountability not accomodation!