As the world responds to an unprecedented crisis unfolding from the COVID-19 pandemic, people, locked up in U.S. immigration detention face these uncertain times while left behind in facilities -- where crowded conditions place them at increased risk of infection and where access to medical care may be limited.
Detained immigrants and asylum-seekers face grave risks including illness and even death if exposed to infection in immigration detention facilities — where rapid spread within crowded centers may occur. Many of them are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 because of their age or serious medical needs.
Conditions in immigration detention are well-documented to have substandard medical care, inadequate basic hygiene, and overcrowding.
