December 11, 2020 Across more than 200 immigration detention centers in the United States, tens of thousands of adults and children are experiencing heightened risk of COVID-19 infection and outbreak. Overcrowding and subpar hygiene and medical care make infectious disease outbreaks in these facilities common. Two Cornell researchers are part of a multi-institution team arguing that the solution is the safe release of detainees into their communities. “The kind of prolonged immigration detention that is the default in the United States – and which has only increased during the past four years – has long been at odds with fundamental rights and public health,” said Ian Kysel, visiting assistant clinical professor at Cornell Law School and co-author of the report. “But the mass detention of immigrants during this pandemic is even more shockingly disproportionate because it puts the entire community – especially detained immigrants and detention facility staff – at much greater risk of contracting this deadly disease.”