Amid the current public health crisis, the stakes for immigrants facing detention and deportation could not be higher. Immigrants of all statuses, including long-term permanent residents, refugees, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients, and those who are undocumented, have been on the front lines of the medical response and kept the U.S. economy running by continuing to produce and deliver food, clean hospitals, and perform other critical tasks.
Despite the pandemic, ICE enforcement has continued, with immigrants being placed in detention centers where COVID-19 outbreaks are occurring. In many of these settings, it is impossible to practice social distancing and basic hygiene, as soap and hand sanitizer are not readily accessible. Many lack access to an attorney who can help advocate on their behalf for access to health care or release to the community.
This page offers resources and recommendations for members of the public, advocates, attorneys, government officials, and other stakeholders to continue the fight for justice, dignity, and safety for immigrants during the pandemic.
Vera Statements
Local Leaders Join Vera's SAFE Network in Calls for Release of All People in ICE Detention
As conveners of Vera Institute of Justice’s SAFE Network, we are proud to partner with 18 jurisdictions that are moving forward sensible, humane, and dignified measures that protect the health and safety of the most vulnerable members of our society, including funding programs that ensure legal representation for their immigrant community members i ...
Vera's SAFE Network Calls for Release of All People in ICE Detention
As conveners of Vera Institute of Justice’s SAFE Network, we are proud to partner with 18 jurisdictions that are moving forward sensible, humane, and dignified measures that protect the health and safety of the most vulnerable members of our society, including funding programs that ensure legal representation for their immigrant community members i ...
Publications and Research
Tracking COVID-19 in Immigration Detention
A Dashboard of ICE Data
If Prison Walls Could Talk
Personal stories about COVID-19 and incarceration
Express Injustice
Expedited Immigration Hearings Pose Danger to Detained Children’s Right to a Fair Process
The Hidden Curve
Estimating the Spread of COVID-19 among People in ICE Detention
How Local Leaders Can Ensure Immigrant Justice During COVID-19 Guidance Brief
Our immigration system is on the threshold of a new crisis precipitated by the COVID-19 pandemic. People in detention face high risks of infection from the close quarters of facilities, shelters, and courtrooms, and they lack adequate sanitation, health care, and protective measures. The frequent transfer of people throughout the immigration detent ...
Support Universal Representation: SAFE Initiative 101
The SAFE Initiative is a unique collaboration among governments, immigration legal service providers, and advocates building a movement for universal representation for people facing detention and deportation. Universal representation advances a public defender system for people facing deportation, one in which every person facing deportation is re ...
COVID-19 and Criminal Justice: City and State Spotlights
Coronavirus Guidance for the Criminal and Immigration Legal Systems
The coronavirus, or COVID-19, has been declared by the World Health Organization to be a global pandemic. As the number of people infected in the United States grows exponentially, we must focus on prevention and containment in the criminal and immigration legal systems. Vera and Community Oriented Correctional Health Services have created a series ...
Taking the Pulse
Public Support for Government-Funded Attorneys in Immigration Court
Although general attitudes towards immigration are commonly researched, less is known about public opinion toward government-funded attorneys in immigration court. To explore public opinion on this issue, Vera is partnering with the survey firm Lucid to conduct public opinion polls about government-funded counsel in several communities across the U ...
Blog Posts
Series: Covid-19
Without an attorney, I might still be confined in a detention facility with COVID-19
It could have been very bad for me when people started to get sick with coronavirus, but I had good lawyers to fight for me. When they told me I would get out, I was very nervous. I was shaking because I couldn’t believe what was happening. I was excited, but my body was shaking. Sometimes I can’t even believe that I am out, after 21 months. It fee ...
Series: Covid-19
Vera’s New Prevalence Model Suggests COVID-19 is Spreading through ICE Detention at Much Higher Rates than Publicized
As of May 31, 2020, ICE reported testing 2,781 people in its custody; 1,461 positive cases were disclosed at just 61 of the more than 200 facilities it uses to detain people. ICE has not clarified whether the remaining tests are confirmed negative or still pending, meaning a minimum of 52 percent of people tested have received positive test results ...
Blog Post
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Nina Siulc
Series: Covid-19
Communities Need State and Local Deportation Defense Programs Now More Than Ever
Presently, the vast majority of people in immigration detention—70 percent—have no legal representation. This is because people facing deportation do not have the right to a public defender if they cannot afford one. And without legal representation, they face slim chances of being released from custody and remaining in the United States. With near ...
Blog Post
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Melissa Garlick
Series: Covid-19
Facebook Post Put High School Student in a Detention Facility Now Struck by Coronavirus
In February 2018, Hernandez, upset about a change in location for her special education program, wrote, “I’m coming tomorrow morning and I’m going to shoot all of ya bitches,” on East High School’s Facebook page. She was charged with making a terroristic threat. She pled guilty to third-degree falsely reporting an incident, a misdemeanor offense, a ...
Blog Post
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Erica Bryant
Series: Covid-19
Unaccompanied Children Suffer as Hearings are Sped Up, Switched to Video During COVID-19 Crisis
Video teleconference (VTC) hearings allow unaccompanied children to participate in court proceedings without physically appearing in court. The children answer questions from a judge on a screen, who might be translated by an interpreter in a third location. Such hearings are commonplace in adult immigration proceedings, despite concerns about thei ...
Blog Post
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Erica Bryant
Series: Covid-19
Detention May Become Death Sentence for Vulnerable Detainees
Immediate action is needed to prevent the spread of this disease among other people in detention who cannot protect themselves. Even under normal circumstances, imprisoning immigrants who are in deportation proceedings is cruel. People—including those who may have legal standing to remain in the United States—languish for weeks, months, or years. ...
Blog Post
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Erica Bryant
Webinars
Webinar: COVID-19’s Impact on Detained Immigrants
Vera’s SAFE (Safety and Fairness for Everyone) Network is a network of 18 jurisdictions committed to universal representation for immigrants facing detention and deportation. In this webinar, the SAFE Network’s Annie Chen leads a discussion with Dr. Homer Venters – a nationally recognized expert on health in correctional settings – about the height ...
Webinar: Critical Initiatives By Local Governments to Support Immigrant Communities During the COVID-19 Crisis
While local governments across the country are facing precarious economic impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic and harsh federal immigration policies continue, local leaders are providing bold leadership to stand up for immigrants in our communities. This webinar highlights how government leaders partnering with Vera are supporting their immigrant co ...
The Vera Institute of Justice is committed to driving concrete change and producing new insights to radically transform American justice, grounded in the values of human dignity, due process, and opportunity for everyone. Its Center on Immigration and Justice has a long track record of protecting the rights of immigrants in the United States, including expanding access to counsel and information for immigrants facing deportation, who do not have the right to a public defender if they cannot afford a lawyer.