9. In the US, stateless people who lack immigration status are generally excluded from federal, or state-funded health insurance or relief programs.9 As the federal government released its first, second, and third stimulus packages, only those in the United States with a valid Social Security Number (SSN) were eligible to receive them. Most stateless persons do not have a social security number, and as such, were excluded from the relief stimulus programs. Also, fears of authorities works as a deterrent for stateless people in enjoying their right to vaccinations. They fear being asked for their ID.10 10. For stateless individuals in the U.S. immigration detention centers, the effects of Covid-19 are especially severe. Over-crowded cells, lack of social distancing, unsafe and unsanitary living conditions and improper medical care have all been reported as an ongoing reality in the US immigration detention facilities. Naturally, these conditions aggravate the suffering inherent in the experience of statelessness11. Stateless persons in the U.S. Immigration Detention 11. Many stateless people in the United States are undocumented and undeportable. Due to the lack of a dedicated statelessness identification and determination procedure, detention and removal officers may be unconvinced that an individual is stateless and therefore undeportable. In such cases, officers may declare that a removable non-citizen is uncooperative, or otherwise find their removal reasonably foreseeable. As a result, stateless persons continue to face a risk of prolonged or indefinite immigrant detention in the U.S., a situation that likely violates Article 9 of the ICCPR. Statelessness is not a defense against removal in the U.S., and removal procedures do not take account of a person’s stateless status when a country for removal is determined. As a result, there have been cases of stateless persons being deported to countries to which they have no meaningful links. 12. While in immigration detention, some stateless persons are subjected to forced labor, which may violate the Abolition of Forced Labor Convention Article 1, which prohibits the use of forced labor as part of discrimination on the grounds of nationality. United Stateless has received reports of stateless youth in detention being forced to clean the toilets of immigration guards. Lack of enjoyment of rights and adequate protection for stateless people Inability to travel or work 13. Stateless persons in the U.S. experience limited freedom of movement, in violation of the ICCPR Article 12(1). They may spend years under a final order of removal from the U.S. but cannot be removed or resolve their status. Without the ability to travel outside the U.S. or to sponsor family members, stateless people may spend years, even decades, separated from family members. “I found out about my statelessness while attempting to voluntarily deport myself to my home country to be with my dying father, only to be denied this right on the grounds that my country no longer recognized me as a citizen.” - United Stateless member 9 Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion, Together We Can. The COVID-19 impact on stateless people & a roadmap for change, 2021, https://files.institutesi.org/together_we_can_report_2021.pdf, p. 8. 10 Ibid., p. 30. (Together we can report) 11 New York Times Virus cases are surging at crowded immigration detention centers in the U.S. 3