Praying for Hand Soap and Masks: Health and Human Rights Violations in U.S. Immigration Detention During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Physical and psychological abuse and inadequate medical care have long been documented in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities, where previous infectious disease outbreaks were poorly contained. In 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic spread across the United States, it became clear that ICE’s continued negligence, coupled with the vast expansion of U.S. immigration detention, would likely lead to a public health disaster.